If the Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, had gone to the White House last Monday hoping to get a well-done handshake from the US President, Donald Trump, he must have been disappointed. In what was clearly an indictment of Buhari’s slow pace, Trump squarely told his visitor that the continued killing of Christians in Nigeria is unacceptable.
Trump had invited Buhari to the White House for talks aimed at boosting the strategic partnership between both countries, especially in the fight against terrorism. President Buhari thereby became the first Black African leader to be hosted by the US leader in the White House.
The US leader expressed grave concern over the killing of Christians by Boko Haram insurgents and Fulani herdsmen in parts of the country, Trump said America would do everything to halt terrorist activities in Nigeria.
Trump noted that, “Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption. I also know that the President has been able to cut that down very substantially. We talked about that. He is working on it and they have made a lot of progress, and I think they will continue to make a lot of progress.”
On tackling Nigeria’s security situation, Trump stated: “We’re helping Nigeria by facilitating intelligence cooperation and providing military training and equipment. We recently sold Nigeria 12 Super Tucano aircraft in the first-ever sale of American military equipment to Nigeria. Nigeria is a valued partner and a good friend.”
Reacting to his host’s remarks, Buhari acknowledged the worrisome level of insecurity in Nigeria and thanked the US for assisting to train the military to fight Islamist terrorists in the Northeast zone.
He described security as the major problem in the country and hailed the US for agreeing to sell some of its sophisticated attack jetfighters to Nigeria for the war against terrorism.
