By MOHAMMED MOMOH

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Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is Monday expected to hold talks with President Donald Trump in the US.

President Buhari will have the distinction of becoming the first African head of state to meet the US leader at the White House in Washington.

The two leaders are expected to “discuss ways to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries”, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said in Abuja.

The meeting will also afford both leaders the opportunity to advance shared priorities, such as promoting economic growth, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security.

“The meeting will further deepen the US-Nigeria relationship as the United States considers Nigeria’s economic growth, security and leadership in Africa to be critical aspects of their strategic partnership,” Mr Adesina added.

Nigeria has been battling the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast for close to a decade.

The jihadists have killed no fewer than 25,000 people since 2009 and were behind the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok in 2014 as well as the abduction of more than 100 from Dapchi in February 2018.

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The insurgency has also displaced more than 2.1 million people and rendered Lake Chad region desolate.

The US-Nigerian security cooperation was strained under former President Barack Obama.

After the meeting with President Trump, the Nigerian leader will meet with a group of business people in agriculture and agro-processing, dairy and animal husbandry.

Talks will also be held between senior Nigerian government officials and executives of major US companies in the areas of agriculture, aviation and transportation.

President Buhari's government has taken several measure to turn around the economy of Africa’s most populous state, investing heavily in agriculture and reducing rice import by 80 per cent.