PUS President Donald Trump and President Muhammadu Buhari
United States President, Donald Trump referred to President Muhammadu Buhari as ‘lifeless’ after both leaders met in April, a report by Ficial Times has revealed.
Famzn News recalls that the Presidency and President Muhammadu Buhari’s supporters celebrated the visit of the Nigerian leader to his US counterpart.
Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari had said the visit to the United States was an endorsement of the current administration by the American government.
“No matter how Nigerians take our own country, this is hugely an important country and this recognition is being manifested in this visit,” Shehu had said.
Also, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had described the visit as a sign of the growing cooperation between the United States and Nigeria.
“He (Buhari) is the president of the most populous country in Africa, the president of the country with the largest economy in Africa. And I think it’s probably the fact that the world is now understanding that Nigeria is very strategic not just to the sub-region but the entire Africa,” Mohammed had said.
However, that meeting ended with the United States President saying he never wanted to meet someone as lifeless as Buhari again, Financial Times reported citing three persons familiar with the matter.
This new narrative is a contrast to what Trump said of Buhari at a joint press briefing held after their bilateral talks.
President Trump said he would love to visit the West African country which he described as one of the most beautiful places on earth.
The United States President also commended Buhari for the war against insurgency and the fight against corruption.
“Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption. I also know that the President has been able to cut that down very substantially,” Trump had said.
“We talked about that, he is working on it and they have made a lot of progress and I think they will not stop to make a lot of progress”, the United States President had said.
Meanwhile, the American and Nigerian governments were yet to react to the publication as at the time of filing this report.