President Muhammadu Buhari has explained why he declared his intentions to
run for another term in office on Monday, April 9, 2018, during the
National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives
Congress (APC).
Receiving the Archbishop of Canterbury, His Grace Justin Welby in London
Wednesday, President Buhari said:
“I declared before leaving home because Nigerians were talking too much
about whether I would run or not. So, I felt I should break the ice. We
have many things to focus on, like security, agriculture, economy,
anti-corruption, and many others. We needed to concentrate on them, and
politics should not be a distraction. The majority of Nigerians appreciate
what we are doing, and that is why I am re-contesting.”
The President recounted some successes of the administration to his guest,
with whom he has built a deep friendship in recent times, and was quite
particular about strides in agriculture.
“We have cut the importation of rice by about 90%, saving billions of
dollars in the process. People who rushed into petrol money have now gone
back to agriculture. Even professionals have gone back to the land.
Nigeria should be able to feed itself comfortably soon. I am so pleased,”
the President said.
On the war against insurgency, he stressed the need for continuous
education of the people, “so that they can be free from religious
manipulation,” adding that no true religion advocates the hurting or
killing of the innocent.
Responding to his guest’s comment on the clashes between herdsmen and
farmers in different parts of Nigeria, the President submitted:
“The problem is even older than us. It has always been there, but now made
worse by the influx of armed gunmen from the Sahel region into different
parts of the West African sub-region. These gunmen were trained and armed
by Muammar Gadaffi of Libya. When he was killed, the gunmen escaped with
their arms. We encountered some of them fighting with Boko Haram. Herdsmen
that we used to know carried only sticks and maybe a cutlass to clear the
way, but these ones now carry sophisticated weapons. The problem is not
religious, but sociological and economic. But we are working on
solutions.”
President Buhari lamented that “irresponsible politics” has been brought
into the farmers/herders’ crisis, but assured that enduring solutions
would be found, and justice done to all concerned.
On Leah Sharibu, the schoolgirl from Dapchi still being held by
insurgents, reportedly because she refused to renounce her Christian
faith, the President said:
“We are managing the matter quietly. Making noise would not help. We are
collecting as much intelligence as possible, working with the Red Cross
and other international organizations. There are too many fraudulent
people around, who claim they can do this and that. We won’t deal with
them. That was how we got the Dapchi girls back, and the Chibok girls.”
Archbishop Welby said it was always a delight to see President Buhari,
“whom I have tremendous respect for,” adding: “You have my best wishes on
your recent decision. I read your declaration speech. We are neutral as a
church, but we will pray for you. Great statesmen are those who run for
the good of their country. We will be praying for you.”
The Archbishop presented President Buhari with a copy of his recent book,
‘Reimagining Britain. Foundations for Hope.’