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Root out seeds of terrorism in sub-Saharan countries *** It wasn't long ago that a meeting of former heads of African nations could be held only in the hereafter. Most of these men -- who came to power after colonialism gave way to self-rule in the 1960s -- hung onto the reins of government until they succumbed to natural death or a bloody coup.

Next week, six former African leaders who left office standing up will meet at Boston University to talk about ways to strengthen Africa's emerging democracies. Billed as a summit to consider ''the short-term impact of the Iraq war on African economies,'' the meeting also will focus on the terrorism threat in sub-Saharan Africa.

''I think it has become increasingly clear that the folks who would do the United States harm view Africa as a staging area for terrorism and that this nation's national security is directly related to the economic security of African countries,'' Charles Stith, director of Boston University's African Presidential Archives and Research Center, said in an interview.

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Stith hopes the summit, which also will be attended by U.S. business leaders, academics and midlevel administration officials, can focus attention on the problems that have made Africa a fertile breeding ground for terrorists. Let's hope so. If the awful events of Sept. 11, 2001 have taught us anything, it is that helping other nations attack the root causes of terrorism is far less costly than trying to weed out terrorist organizations once they're in full***