The United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that Nigeria has a reputation for corruption, and that himself and Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari discussed issues of mutual benefit to the two countries on security and agriculture.
Trump said specifically that the U.S. will continue to offer its support for Nigeria to proffer a lasting solution to the issue of insecurity.
Buhari had solicited the help of the U.S. in repatriating funds stashed away in America by corrupt Nigerians which giving his address and fielding questions from reporters at the White House.
“Nigeria has massive reputation for corruption,” Trump said while standing by Buhari when the two presidents addressed the press.
“I discussed it with the president and we agreed to do something on it,”apparently referring to the killings in Nigeria by herdsmen.
Trump said “We are working to cut the corruption cases down” just as Buhari did not object to the observation, which he had repeatedly acknowledged publicly himself, and instead showed appreciation for the support of the U.S.
Asked whether he was offended by Trump’s alleged denigration of African countries in the past, Buhari said he was skeptical about the media reports and would rather not comment on them.
“I am being careful about what the press says about others and myself. But the best thing for me to do is to keep quiet,” Mr Buhari said.
Buhari said his government had done a lot to curb human rights abuses in Nigeria, especially in the ongoing war against Boko Haram.
“The government of Nigeria remains committed to human rights,” even in the course of fighting terrorism, Buhari said.
Buhari said he had no problem with the presence of American troops in Nigeria, saying they are only in his country to offer training and other support that are crucial to winning the war against terrorism.
“This is one of the best things the United States could do for our country,” Mr Buhari said when asked whether he was concerned about the police role being played by America across the world.
Trump said Buhari’s comments were fair, but added that he would want to see America scale back its supervisory role across the world while improving trade with other countries.
“We wanna police our country. What we want to do now is to open Nigeria and other countries to trade,” he said.
On the concerns about low patronage of Nigerian crude by the U.S. in recent years, Mr Buhari said he would not tell another country what to do. He praised the U.S. for its technological innovations that have helped reduce its reliance on oil.
President Trump also on Monday said the United States will not condone the ongoing killings across central Nigeria, saying efforts would be made to end the carnage.
“We’ve had very serious problems with Christians who have been murdered, killed in Nigeria. We’re going to be working on that problem… because we can’t allow that to happen,” Mr Trump said while receiving President Muhammadu Buhari at the White House Monday afternoon.
Hundreds of Nigerians have been killed by suspected herdsmen in Christian-dominated states like Benue and Taraba since January 1. Many of the victims are Christians.
Buhari promised to do something about the situation, which had been among the toughest challenges for his government this year.