As A Democrat, I'll Carry Everyone Along - Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday received some of the ministers who served with him when he was the Military Head of State between January 1984 and August 1985.

Buhari, who went down memory lane recalled “how we got things done then,” during the military administration.

The Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Femi Adesina, in a statement, said Buhari, who received the guests at the State House in Abuja, pledged to “carry everyone along on my last lap as a democratically elected leader.”

A moment of silence was observed in memory of departed former ministers during the military regime.

The leader of the delegation, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, who served as the Minister of External Affairs, said the team came to congratulate the President on his achievements in security, foreign affairs, anti-corruption, education, and many others.

Gambari said, “We were appointed 35 years and nine months ago. Eighteen of us were sworn in. Your leadership was firm, but you also gave us free rein to operate. You knew what each person was doing. We will never forget the opportunity you gave us. We remain patriots.”

He commended the President on the newly constituted Economic Advisory Council, adding that the same should be considered for security and foreign affairs.

Other former ministers in the team were Maj. Gen. Muhammed Magoro (retd.), Dr Emmanuel Nsan, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullah, and Brig. Gen. Ahmed Abdullahi (retd.).

In another statement by his Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity), Garba Shehu, the President said the crisis between farmers and herdsmen was not religious, but arose from social and cultural factors.

Buhari stated this during a courtesy visit on him at the State House in Abuja by a delegation of the Benue State Council of Traditional Rulers led by the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse.

He also called for better appreciation of the historical relationship among various communities in order to sustain the nation’s unity.

The statement read, “President Buhari decried the misunderstanding of internal conflicts by many people at home and abroad, citing the farmer-herder’s clashes which in several places had been misconstrued as religious, when in fact they arose from social and cultural factors.”