President Muhammadu Buhari has reaffirmed that his government had succeeded in curtailing Boko Haram insurgents in the country, saying the terrorist group no longer controls any part of the country.

Buhari attributed the success to operations of security agencies deployed to counter insurgency in the North-eastern part of the country, recalling that they contested the last election basically on three issues, which includes security, especially in the North-East.

According to him, Boko Haram used to occupy quite a number of local governments in Borno but they were not in any one now, saying they they had resorted to a very dangerous way of terrorism by indoctrinating young people, mostly girls and attacking soft targets, churches, mosques and marketplaces.

On herders and farmers clashes, Buhari who was speaking at an interactive session with the Nigerian community in China, said while security agencies were doing their best to curtail the clashes, the Nigerian media needed to complement the efforts through objective and informed reportage.

He appealed to the media to make attempt at understanding the cultural and historical implications of some of the misunderstanding between herders and farmers, saying the press in Nigeria do not make enough efforts to study the historical antecedents of issues that were creating national problems for the country.

According to the president, due to the effects of climate change, a farm that used to belong to five people now belongs to fifty people, the weather condition, particularly the rainy season, was now unpredictable.

He partly blamed the farmers/herders controversy on the shrinking of the Lake Chad, which had forced many cattle nomads to seek greener pastures for their herds in other parts of the country.

On election, Buhari said as a beneficiary of free and fair elections, he was not afraid of a credible process in twenty-nineteen, reaffirming his commitment to making sure that the polls would be free, fair and credible.

Buhari pledged that Nigerians eligible to vote in the general elections would be allowed to freely elect candidates of their choice.

Citing recent elections in Bauchi, Katsina and Kogi, the president said the country had made progress relative to elections conducted in previous years.

On Nigeria-China relations, Buhari lauded China’s generosity and contribution to the development of Nigeria, citing the successful completion of Abuja-Kaduna railway line, built by the Chinese, and ongoing works on Lagos-Ibadan-Ilorin-Abuja-Kano railway route.

According to him, Nigeria and China are also negotiating on the Mambilla project.

The president advised Nigerians planning to travel abroad for ‘‘greener pastures’’ to do so legitimately and not to expect too much from their countries of destination.

He acknowledged the material and intellectual support of Nigerians in the Diaspora to the development of the country, and assured that his administration would remain focused and committed in providing needed infrastructure for Nigeria’s prosperity.

Earlier in his remarks, the Nigerian Ambassador to China, Baba Ahmed-Jidda, had thanked the President for his support to the Embassy, including the completion of the Ambassador’s official residence.

He praised Nigerians resident in the various provinces of China for being law-abiding, with the exception of few.

On consular matters, the envoy told the president that Nigerians were facing difficulties in obtaining Chinese visas, and urged the president to take it up with the Chinese authorities.

On his part, President of China Chapter of Nigerians in the Diaspora Organisation, Brian Akiti, wished the country successful elections and pledged the support of the organisation to the present administration’s development agenda.

In another event, Buhari charged Nigerian students on scholarship in China to ensure they made the best use of the opportunity, and said Nigeria was grateful to China for extending the generosity.

The president also met with the executives of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, during which he lauded the construction group for their immense contributions to infrastructure development in Nigeria.