Liberia’s president was “honoured” to meet US counterpart Donald Trump this week and wasn’t offended by Trump’s comment about his fluency in English — his mother tongue — Liberia’s foreign minister said on Friday.
The US president’s comment has even inspired a catchy tribute song in the West African country.
Trump praised President Joseph Boakai on Wednesday for his English-speaking skills, apparently unaware that English is the official language of Liberia.
Responding to remarks Boakai made at a White House mini-summit of the presidents of five mineral-rich countries in West Africa, the US leader said, “Such good English… Where were you educated?”
READ ALSO: ‘Where Were You Educated?’ Trump Comments On Liberian President’s English
Boakai — who, like most Liberians, speaks English as a first language — laughed uncomfortably and replied he had been educated in his home country.
“We were honoured by the White House’s invitation to President Boakai for a meeting with President Trump and fellow African leaders. No offence was taken,” Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti told AFP on Friday evening.
She said Liberia was keen to strengthen ties with the United States, “built on mutual respect”.
Liberia is the oldest republic in sub-Saharan Africa.
It was founded in 1822 when the American Colonisation Society, funded by the US Congress and slaveholders, began sending freed slaves to its shores.
Thousands of “Americo-Liberian” settlers followed.
They declared independence in 1847 and set up a government to rule over the native African majority.
English is the official language and the most widely used throughout the country.
English King Of Africa
In response to Trump’s faux pas, singer and former cultural ambassador Queen Juli Endee penned a song in tribute to Boakai.
“We salute JNB, our black president, Beautiful English King of Africa,” she and her band sang in a video widely shared on social media.
The clip shows them waving US flags and wearing T-shirts bearing the images of Boakai and Trump.
Liberians, meanwhile, voiced mixed reactions.
Shadrach Johnson, unemployed, welcomed the fact that Boakai had been among the small number of African leaders invited to the summit.
“He went there and spoke on behalf of the Liberian people. It’s progress,” he told AFP.
But street trader Patience Allison said Trump had insulted her head of state and sought to provoke.
“For him to ask that question, it is almost like you are making fun. He was really making fun of our president,” she said.
Source: Channels TV
Leave a Reply