By Baron Ike
(In)security is expected to be top on the agenda of the meeting President Muhammadu Buhari holds with jis United States counterpart, Donald Trump on Monday.
Trump had invited Buhari to a meeting on April 30 while Nigeria’s President was attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in London a fortnight ago.
Buhari had arrived in Washington on Sunday having departed Nigeria on Saturday night.
The meeting, it was learnt, will heavily be dependent on the issues of security and the threat of Boko Haram back home and how both countries can collaborate to deal with the situation.
The U.S. frowns seriouly at insecurity, particularly as propelled of late by terrorists of which Nigeria has got a fair share of their devastating activities.
Buhari is expected to use the opportunity of the meeting to deepen talks with Trump on the purchase of certain military hardware necessary for the fight against insurgency in Nigeria.
Like what the U.S. is to the world, Nigeria is believed to be the policeman of Africa, a role the country has been fronting to be made a member of the United Nations Security Council.
Buhari hopes to extract as much commitment as possible from Trump on how the U.S. can help Nigeria navigate out of her current security challenges.
Sources said Buhari also hopes to use the meeting opportunity to sound Trump out on his intention to seek reelection.The opposition People’s Democratic Party had advised Trump to caution Buhari on some of his ” undemocratic ” tendencies which they say were threatening democracy in Nigeria.
Among those on the entourage of Buhari are Governors Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state Samuel Lalong of Plateau State, Foreign Affairs minister Geoffrey Onyeama, Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, among others.