US President Donald Trump told his aides he never again wanted to meet someone so lifeless as Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, 75, following their meeting at the White House in April, three unnamed sources have told the UK-based Financial Times newspaper.
Mr Buhari was the first leader from sub-Saharan Africa to be invited by Mr Trump to the White House, suggesting that the US president saw Nigeria – a leading oil producer which is battling militant Islamists – as a key ally.
Mr Trump is due to meet Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta later on Monday to discuss trade and security.
“Trump likes chemistry. Africa has never been high on his radar but if the big guy likes you he’ll find a way to make things work,” an unnamed person in contact with US and Kenyan officials told the Financial Times.
