Preceding President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the United States, a former assistant secretary of state, Johnnie Carson, is now saying that the discussion between Nigeria and United States should not be restricted to insecurity alone because Nigeria as he said is "the most important country in Africa and must be treated as such".
The former assistant secretary said in an interview with Reuters that Washington should not let security issues overshadow the need for closer trade and investment ties. In his words:
"Nigeria is the most important country in Africa, now more than ever the relationship with Nigeria should not rest essentially on a security and military-to-military relationship."
Similarly, US Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken told Reuters that: "President Barack Obama has long seen Nigeria as arguably the most important strategic country in sub-Saharan Africa."
Over the years the ties between the US and Nigeria have strained because Nigerian government refused to investigate corruption allegations in the country. Blinken said "The question is would there be an opportunity to deepen our engagement and that opportunity is now" when speaking on Buhari’s three-day visit to Washington.
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