The Turkish Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Mehmet Poroy, recently alerted Nigerians to the presence of a new terrorist group that migrated from Turkey to Nigeria. He made the call at the celebration of the country’s Democracy and National Unity Day, which is held annually on July 16 in the aftermath of the 2016 coup attempt to overthrow the regime of President Recep Erdoğan.
The call came at a time when Nigeria is sensitive to information on the activities of terrorist groups in the country because its social fabric has been bruised by the activities of terrorist groups in the northeast, northwest and parts of north-central over the years. It indeed jolted many Nigerians, including stakeholders in the intelligence and security sector.
The swift response by the Defence Headquarters and the National Centre for Counter Terrorism was commendable, and it helped calm the nerves of Nigerians frightened by the alarm raised by the Turkish Ambassador-designate.
As a newspaper, we find the Turkish authorities’ position disturbing, given that there are official channels for communicating with the Nigerian government on such and any other matter. The choice of a press briefing was ill-advised for all intents and purposes.
From our findings, it was discovered that the persistent labelling of a group of private investors in the country as terrorists was in the aftermath of the botched coup in Turkey in 2016, where the President of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, accused the late Turkish scholar, author and preacher Fethullah Gülen as the brain behind the coup attempt.
We recall that in 2017, the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, called on the Nigerian Government to close 17 Turkish schools in Nigeria for their alleged links with a movement his government claimed was involved in the July 15 failed coup attempt in Turkey.
According to him, investigations by the Turkish government showed that a movement led by US-based Fethullah Gülen was responsible for the failed coup attempt, which claimed over 200 lives. He stated that the Turkish government was dissociating itself from any school bearing the country’s name in Nigeria, noting that while Turkey had schools in other countries, it had none in Nigeria.
We recall that the then Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, in his response, stated that Nigeria, as a sovereign state, had rules and regulations guiding its operations, diplomatic or otherwise.
He said, “Turkish schools and other investments came to Nigeria and indicated interest in investing in the Nigerian education system. Conditions were presented to them, and they met the requirements. They were issued an operational license and have been operating in line with the specifications of the license they have. In that regard, it would be morally and legally unfair to yield to the call of the Turkish Government on mere allegations. We have no evidence against the Turkish schools and other investments in Nigeria that would warrant taking the action as requested by the government and closing the schools or other investments. Until the Turkish Government proves otherwise, they will continue to do their legitimate business here in Nigeria”
In 2018, the Turkish Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Melih Ulueren, in a press briefing in a similar pattern, stated that Turkey had established the Maarif Foundation in Nigeria to take over the Turkish schools. The ambassador stated that “Maarif Foundation aims to assume the ownership of the schools.
We find this persistent pattern curious to the extent that in 2025, the Turkish authorities are still neck-deep in the enterprise without recourse to the psychological implications of their actions on the psyche of Nigerians and the diplomatic relationship between both countries. Nigeria and Turkey have a rich diplomatic and business relationship, so allegations of this magnitude should be communicated officially through appropriate diplomatic channels.
This disturbing trend must be nipped in the bud by the relevant authorities in Nigeria. Calling a group of people terrorists without justification is uncharitable and heats the polity unnecessarily. That call was also an affront to the security architecture in the country. The statement by the Defence Headquarters that Nigeria is an independent nation and makes its own decisions, particularly on security and counterterrorism matters, says it all.
This newspaper agrees with the Defence Headquarters’ position on the need to respect our sovereignty as a nation. Given that this has been an ongoing pattern since 2017, it is hoped that the Turkish authorities will take the Defence Headquarters’ statement seriously. It is time to put the speculations to rest. Turkey is better advised to communicate any such misgivings about its citizens in Nigeria appropriately, using the right channels with corresponding evidence to back their claims.
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