Africa News of Thursday, 9 January 2020

Source: bbc.com

Kenyans and Nigerians show great faith in Trump

President Trump sparked a row over his alleged use of the word President Trump sparked a row over his alleged use of the word "shithole" to describe African nation

Kenya and Nigeria are among countries where people have great faith in US President Donald Trump, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center.

The poll, whose aim was to find out what the world thinks about Mr Trump, stated that 65% of Kenyans surveyed had faith in the US leader, with the rating dipping slightly to 58% among Nigerians polled.

This is despite Mr Trump's past missteps - including reportedly calling African states "shithole countries".

The two African countries were among 33 others polled outside the US between May and October 2019.

Pew also notes that sub-Saharan African nations have typically expressed favourable opinions of the US.

Kenya and Nigeria are both among the top recipients of US economic aid, according to the Security Assistance Monitor.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was the first sub-Saharan African leader invited to the White House in 2018.

The Trump administration also sold 12 US military aircraft to Nigeria in a reversal of an Obama-era policy.