Obama urges Nigeria president to fight terrorism

Washington is concerned that post-poll violence could undermine the stability of Africa’s top oil producer and hamper efforts to tackle the Islamist militants of Boko Haram.

For years, the group has remained unstoppable, and former president Goodluck Jonathan did little to curb the aggression of the group.

Obama met with Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss relations between the two countries and strengthen cooperation to defeat terrorism.

He said, “In recent weeks, it appears to have shifted away from confronting the military directly to an increase in attacks on civilian areas, as we saw only last week when an elderly woman and 10-year-old girl blew themselves up at a Muslim prayer gathering in northeastern Nigeria”. When Jonathan was at the helm, Boko Haram refused to open discussions, but a Nigerian official claims the group has tentatively approached the idea of coming to the table for talks. Domestic corruption is rampant.

He has long opposed corruption, but his democratic credentials are less stellar: He once led a military coup against a corrupt government in 1984. Obama praised the March vote as “an affirmation of Nigeria’s commitment to democracy”.

President Barack Obama has welcomed Nigeria’s new president to the White House.

In his tweets about the meeting of the two leaders, Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, reported President Obama as saying the the destiny of Africa is tied to that of Nigeria.

Buhari, therefore, thanked Obama for inviting him to visit his country as well as his administration’s support to Nigeria. This is an exceptional turnout for Washington, D.C.in July and with Congress in recess.

“I want to emphasised how much I appreciate President Buhari’s work so far”.

The explosion happened at about 1:00 pm (1200 GMT) to the north of the city, which is the capital of Yobe state, on the main road to Maiduguri in neighbouring Borno state.

“President Buhari came into office with reputation for integrity and a very clear agenda, that is to make sure that he has been bringing safely security and peace to his country”. However, it is unlikely to be the occasion of dramatic announcements or initiatives.

(Kenya and Ethiopia are in the east, Nigeria in the west.) And Kenya has personal resonance for Obama, whose father was born there. Later in the day, he will meet with West African diplomats, World Bank executives, and members of the U.S. Congress. He is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting Tuesday with Nigerians.

Given that, it’s not immediately clear why Obama chose to leave Nigeria off his itinerary. The Buhari visit to Washington may address those concerns. Most disappointedly, the list of delegates and their level of preparedness created more doubts about the President’s commitment to issues of foreign policy and commerce.

“Indeed, the US government has an important responsibility to ensure not only that it returns stolen assets to the country but that it takes proactive steps to stop the stashing of such assets in its jurisdiction”.