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End of era: When African leaders visited Trump’s White House

Trump-meets-Buhari5

FILE: Buhari and Trump at the White House

Kayode Oyero

The curtain falls on the Donald Trump presidency on Wednesday but the 45th President of the United States would be remembered for a number of things including his many firsts. Aside being the first US president to be impeached twice by Congress, Trump is perhaps also the first American president who did not touch on the African soil all through his administration.

According to Wikipedia, Trump made about 20 trips to 24 countries during his administration but he never stepped into Africa. This is a sharp contrast from previous American presidents like Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George Bush, amongst others, who visited some African nations during their administrations.

(L-R) Kenyatta, Conde,  Trump, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, Osinbajo and Desalegn pose following a family photo of G7 leaders with African leaders after an expanded session at the Summit of the Heads of State and of Government of the G7, the group of most industrialised economies, plus the European Union, on May 27, 2017 in Taormina, Sicily. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / JONATHAN ERNST (Photo credit should read JONATHAN ERNST/AFP/Getty Images)

Although Trump never hide his disinterest for Africa and its 1.2 billion inhabitants which is roughly 17 per cent of the world’s population, the Republican one-term US president met with some African leaders such as Nigeria’s Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo; Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame; Ghana’s Nana Akufo-Addo; and Guinea’s Alpha Condé.

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Others are Cote d’Ivoire’s Alassane Ouattara; Senegal’s Macky Sall; Namibia’s Hage Geingob; South Africa’s Jacob Zuma; Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa; Ethiopia’s Hailemariam Desalegn; and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni.

Trump and Kagame on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland in January 2018

While the outgoing US president met the other leaders on the sidelines of international events such as those hosted by the United Nations and the World Economic Forum, Nigeria’s Buhari was the first African leader to visit the White House during the Trump administration. Other African presidents who later visited Trump’s White House include Kenyatta; Libya’s Fayez al-Sarraj and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Trump and Buhari arrive for a joint press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 30, 2018, in Washington, DC. Photo: AFP

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The PUNCH had reported that Buhari said Trump told him some sizzling hot truths during the visit on April 30, 2018.

Amongst other things, Trump would be remembered for his tough travel and economic sanctions on some African nations as he vacates the White House early Wednesday before the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. The 74-year-old is to start a new life in his Mar-a-Lago golf club residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump, Kenyatta at the White House in August 2018

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He plans to employ a few of his loyal aides to work for him or his son-in-law Jared Kushner who will be spending time working with him after his presidency.

However, Trump, who officially declared Florida as his home in 2019, may face resistance from neighbours who have already declared they do not want him there.

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