Nigeria one of the most important nations in the world & has a clear agenda – Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday described Nigeria as not just an important African nation, but also an important nation in the world.

He made the remark during the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the White House, on a day that Obama also commended Buhari’s work in rooting out corruption that he said had held back Nigeria’s economic growth.

Obama offered strong support for Buhari, saying he had a “clear agenda” for defeating the militant Islamist group Boko Haram and was working to root out corruption.

Speaking as he greeted Buhari on his first visit to the White House since his election in March, Obama said the two leaders would discuss ways to cooperate against the group, which has wreaked havoc in parts of the West African country.

Obama told reporters in the Oval Office that Buhari has integrity and “a very clear agenda in defeating Boko Haram extremists of all sorts inside his country.”

Since Buhari’s election, Washington has committed $5 million in new support for a multi-national task force set up to fight Boko Haram. Obama did not signal whether he might send U.S. troops to help train Nigerian forces.

The United States is also looking to improve its economic ties with Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, especially as relations with two of Africa’s other big powers, Egypt and South Africa, have cooled.