Donald Trump said he “never wants to meet someone as lifeless” as Nigeria’s Muhamadu Buhari again in a conversation with white house aides after he had a meeting with the Nigerian leader in April according to a recent report by the Financial Times.
According to the report, three persons privy to the conversation confirmed to Financial Times that president Trump was not quite pleased with the failing energy of the ailing Nigerian leader who is now 75. The meeting further strained the US-Africa ties making it necessary for a future meeting with an African leader to require an assessment before scheduling.
Sick and frail Muhamadu Buhari came to power for a second time, after ruling as a dictator in 1984, after defeating Goodluck Jonathan,60, in 2015. Despite leading the nation into recession, swamps of human rights abuses and rising clampdown on opposition voices, the ailing leader declared intentions to seek re-election in the countries coming polls in 2019.
As president, Buhari has spent almost a quarter of reign in a London hospital for an undisclosed ailment. In 2007, Nigerians in London had to protest and demand his resignation for absconding from duties for 103 days wile attending to his health in a London hospital.
Kenya’s Kenyatta steps into Buhari’s shoes for Africa
To repair the image of Africa before the US, young president Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya is to meet with Donald Trump on Monday. It is hoped that Kenyatta’s meeting will signal an end to US neglect of the continent.
The Trump meeting with Buhari needed a quick panacea and Kenyatta has come in timely to fill that void and restore the respect US has for Africa..
Joshua Meservey, senior policy analyst for Africa at the Heritage Foundation, said: “Presidents Trump and Kenyatta have a pretty warm relationship which can hopefully pave the way for more engagement with Kenya and the rest of Africa.” The Kenyan president, he suspected, might try to “carry the torch” for the whole continent according to Financial Times.
Mr Kenyatta will also meet Theresa, the UK prime minister, in Nairobi next week. He is also billed to be in Beijing in early September for the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation summit to be presided over by Xi Jinping, China’s president.
