President Muhammadu Buhari, who is in the UK on an official visit, has defended his decision to seek re-election next year, saying he wanted to end speculation so he could concentrate on his job.
We have many things to focus on, like security, agriculture, economy, anti-corruption… We needed to concentrate on them, and politics should not be a distraction."
He made the comments to the Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who called on Mr Buhari earlier today, a presidential statement said.
He also defended his record, saying his administration had cut "the importation of rice by about 90%, saving billions of dollars in the process”.
The 75-year-old added:
Nigeria should be able to feed itself comfortably soon."
President Buhari blamed the recent herders crisis on the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who he said trained and armed them.
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."
A rights group in Nigeria said this week that more than 2,000 people had been killed in recent violence between farmers and nomadic herdsmen.
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