Nigeria Student Forum

Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday rose in his defence following a report quoting sources close to United States President Donald Trump as describing his meeting with Buhari as “lifeless.”

But opponents of the President took advantage of the report to castigate him.

Trump hosted President Buhari, the first sub-Saharan African leader at the White House, on April 30. The two leaders discussed security and the economy, after which the U.S. President hailed President Buhari.

He said: “Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption. I also know that the President has been able to cut that down very substantially.”

Trump added: “We talked about that, he is working on it and they have made a lot of progress and I think they will continue to make a lot of progress.”

In one of the photographs of the meeting released by the White House, Trump was seen standing behind Buhari, laughing as the Nigerian leader was signing a document.

But an article titled: ‘Africa looks for something new out of Trump,’ in Financial Times yesterday said: “The first meeting with Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari ended with the U.S. president telling aides he never wanted to meet someone so lifeless again. The report quoted “three people familiar with the matter,” as saying so.

Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse Sagay(SAN) and spokesperson of the President Buhari’s Campaign Organisation, Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN) dismissed as fake news the slur remark credited to Trump. Prof Sagay said he did not believe Trump could have made the “irresponsible comment”. He alerted Nigerians to be wary of fake news being peddled on the social media.

He said: “How could the U.S. President say Buhari as lifeless? I don’t believe President Trump made such irresponsible comment. If the source of the comment in question is social media, I won’t waste time on it. It is all lies; it is fake news. I hardly react to fake news being peddled on social media. I don’t believe any right-thinking person would see President Buhari and say he is lifeless. Only a mad man would have made such comment being ascribed to the U.S. President.”

Keyamo said Buhari won’t react to social media conjecture, pointing out the comment could not be traced to the official information sources of the U.S. government.

Keyamo said: “There is nothing to say about the uncharitable comment being credited to President Trump. For now, the alleged comment did not come from the official information sources of the United States (U.S.) government or its embassy in Nigeria. We regard it as fake news. In my capacity as the spokesperson of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign organisation, I cannot react to unconfirmed statement. We react only to verifiable statements, not fake news.”
But the White House has not confirmed that the President made the statement.

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) said President Buhari would not be distracted by the alleged derogatory remarks but will remain focused on his mandate to deliver on his promises to the Nigerian people.

Describing the comment as disrespectful, Chairman of the group, Mr. Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Maduekwe, said in a statement that whether it was indeed said or in fact unsaid, Buhari would in his character continue to remain focused on his mandate to deliver on his promises to the Nigerian people.

Read More: thenationonlineng.net/trump-under-attack-for-buhari-lifeless-comment/