No seat for Nigeria as Trump meets select US-Africa leaders
Sopuruchi Onwuka
The upcoming African leaders’ summit convened by President Donald Trump of the United States might have no seat for Nigerian representatives, pointing at suspected stalemate in the relationship between the two nations after President Bola Tinubu took office at a time Trump was also returning to the White House.
The Oracle gathered from local US media sources that countries whose leaders would map new American relationship would come from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal.
This ouster of Nigeria from the crucial meeting would however not come as a surprise as Trump’s initial meeting with former President Muhammadu Buhari during his first tenure at the White House ended in a disappointing fiasco. Trump was reported by the American media as describing Buhari as lifeless and banned his aides from fixing any further event that would bring him to close interaction with the former Nigerian president.
In the present case, analysts note that President Tinubu’s overseas trips appear to carefully concentrate on Europe, especially France whose business envoys are rumored to have inroads into the sources of power in Abuja.
The reason why Tinubu’s itineraries appear to avoid the United States is not clear. Buhari’s overseas trips had also inclined towards United Kingdom, China and Middle East.
The Trump administration of the United States’ government which appears to wage trade war against African countries with poor democratic and human rights profiles had earlier listed Nigeria among African nations whose citizens might be barred from coming to the United States.
Trump who is apparently redrawing the map of trade relationships and international partnerships of the United States, analysts note, might use the upcoming meeting which has been fixed for July 11 boost spheres of influence in Africa.
The meeting is also deemed strategic, with US officials potentially trying to capitalize on a period of intense US-Africa diplomacy after Trump brokered ceasefire between DR Congo and Rwanda. The ceasefire was recently signed at the White House.
Inside sources confirmed that Trump will attend the summit in person to possibly explore economic opportunities in West Africa’s critical minerals sector.
The Oracle reports that whereas Trump maintains strong support for the US petroleum industry, he is also bullish with hunting trade agreements that offer US access to rare earth minerals that are crucial to low carbon energy development.
Analysts also note that the meeting would also take a dive into regional security, an area that has emerged as priority for Washington in its engagement with the continent.
However, whereas Nigeria is missing in the current list of delegates to meet Trump, opportunities exist for the giant of Africa in the further meeting by September in New York. The plans for the New York meeting, according to sources, are still being finalized.
