*President Muhammadu Buhari’s four day trip to the United States yields many promises, but little in concrete commitments from his hosts

AYORINDE OLUOKUN/ABUJA

If the four day trip of President Muhammadu Buhari to the United States is to be judged by the sweet talks and commendations of the personal attributes and the bright potentials of Nigerian nation by his coterie of hosts led by President Barrack Obama, then the journey to the North American can be described as highly successful.

Unarguably, the highest point of the four days trip meeting was the last Monday meeting between the Nigerian President and his American counterpart. Obama had during that meeting put on his famous charm, as he lavished praises on Buhari and Nigeria.

“Nigeria is obviously one of the most important countries in the world, one of the most important countries in the African continent”, the US President said to cheers from the Nigerian team which included the governors of Nasarawa, Borno, Imo, Oyo and Edo States as well as some Nigerian government officials.

The United States President also acknowledged the credibility of the election and peaceful transition which led to the emergence of the retired General as the Nigerian President about two months ago.

“President Buhari came into office with a reputation for integrity and a very clear agenda that is to make sure that he brings safely security and peace to his country. He is very concerned about the spread and the violence that is taking place there and the atrocities and has a very clear agenda in defeating Boko Haram and extremists. And he has a very clear agenda with respect to rooting out the corruption that too often has held back the economic growth and prosperity of his country,” Obama said.

The acknowledgement of the two fundamental areas—Boko Haram terrorism and corruption – — which the Nigerian presidency has said it will seek the help of the United States ahead of the trip to the North American country, indicated that the guest and his hosts were thinking along the same line.

The US President also affirmed that his country is ready to help Nigeria on both issues in a way that will make the country an anchor not only of prosperity and stability in the sub region and Africa, but an outstanding role model for developing countries around the world.

The US president added that his government “very much look forward to talking about security issues, how we can cooperate on counterterrorism. We’re looking forward to discussing how we can be helpful in addressing some of the corruption issues that have held Nigeria back, and unleashing the incredible talent of the Nigerian people.”