by Dyepkazah Shibayan,
President Muhammadu Buhari has explained the reason he made his intention for a second term known shortly before he left for the UK.
Buhari made his intention known at the national executive committee meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday.
Speaking when he received Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, at the Abuja House, London, on Wednesday, Buhari said there were a lot of controversies around his second term.
The president said there were many issues to focus on and politics should not be a distraction.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Buhari said under him, the agriculture sector had recorded tremendous boos.
“We have cut the importation of rice by about 90 percent, saving billions of dollars in the process. People who rushed into petrol money have now gone back to agriculture,” he said.
“Even professionals have gone back to the land. Nigeria should be able to feed itself comfortably soon. I am so pleased.”
He said solutions were being sought for the herdsmen, farmers clashes.
“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,” the president said.
“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.”