TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari and his United States counterpart, Donald Trump, held a joint press conference in Washington D.C. today, addressing issues concerning the two countries.

The US President frowned at the killing of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, spoke on trade between the US and Nigeria, and said Nigeria is reputed as the “most beautiful country”.

Here are seven things we learnt from the press conference:

Stop the killing of Christians  — and Muslims

President Trump asked the President to halt the killing and persecution of Christians — and the killing of Muslims in the country.

Trump wants Nigeria’s support for US 2026 World Cup bid

At the press conference, Trump asked President Buhari to support the United States bid to host the 2026 world cup. He said Canada and Mexico are also bidding to host the world cup in 2026.

“We would be watching very closely, and any help they could give us on that bid, we would appreciate,” Trump said.

Nigeria has reputation for corruption, but Buhari has cut that down very substantially

The US President also said Nigeria has a historical reputation for corruption, but President Buhari has been working to cut that down very substantially.

“In terms of corruption, Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption, but I also know that the president has been able to cut that down very substantially, we talked about it, and they have made a lot of progress,” Trump said.

We didn’t discuss “shithole countries”

President Buhari, being the first president from sub-Saharan Africa to visit Trump after the US president was reported to have made vulgar comments about African countries, was asked if he discussed that.

The Nigerian president said he is very careful about what the press says about him and other leaders, adding that he did not mention anything about the comments.

Trump in turn, said: “We didn’t discuss it, and you do have some countries that are in very bad shape, and very tough places to live in. We didn’t discuss because the president knows me, and he knows where I am coming from, and I appreciate that”.

Buhari can’t tell US what to do

President Buhari, while answering questions on US import of Nigerian crude, said he cannot tell the US what to do, but urged the country to invest in technological advancements that could make use of Nigeria’s oil.

We give you $1bn in aid — take down Nigeria’s trade barriers

Trump said Nigeria has trade barriers in place against the United States, and said both countries are working on ripping down those trade barriers.

“We give Nigeria well over $1 billion in trade every year, and we have already started talking with the president about taking down the trade barriers; very substantial barriers to the United States trade,” Trump said.

 Nigeria wants our agricultural products

The US president added that Nigeria was interested in agricultural products from his country, stating that plans are now in place to allow export of US farm produce to Nigeria — for the good of US farmers, Nigeria, and Africa.

There’s no country more beautiful than Nigeria

When asked if he would visit Nigeria, Trump said he would like to visit the country, adding that he has heard that there is no country more beautiful than Nigeria.

“I would like to visit Nigeria, it is an amazing country, and in certain ways,  I hear from the standpoint of the beauty of a country, there is no country more beautiful,” Trump said.