Nigeria's president is warning that if Islamist terrorists in Mali are not contained there will be a spillover effect upon some Western and African nations.

President Goodluck Jonathan told the World Economic Forum on Wednesday that terrorists "always want to create crisis" and "that's one of the reasons why we will have to move fast."

A military coup in March 2012 led to the takeover of northern Mali by Islamist militants, who recently started moving south, threatening the rest of the West African country.

Jonathan thanked France for sending in troops and aircraft to push back the terrorists.

He said the crisis in Libya, where a weak government is struggling to maintain control, has made things worse in Mali since weapons and fighters from Libya have joined the Mali extremists.