The official relations between Nigeria and Turkey started after Nigeria’s independence on 1st October, 1960. Turkey opened an embassy in Lagos, then capital of Nigeria, in August 1962. Turkish Embassy moved to Abuja in 2001 after the official proclamation of Abuja as the new capital on December 12, 1991, replacing Lagos. The Nigerian Embassy in Ankara which was closed in 1984 has been reopened in 2000.
Hitherto the authorities at Nigeria’s first modern mosque in southwestern Lagos state have called for a partnership with the Turkish government in the running of the religious edifice, famed for its Ottoman-like architecture. Estimated to cost £3,000 at the time, the Shitta-Bey Mosque was built in 1891 and commissioned in 1894 by dignitaries that included Abdullahi Quillam, a representative of Ottoman Sultan Abd-al-Hamid. The mosque was named after Mohammed Shitta, the financier of the construction, whom the sultan honoured with the title of “Bey” for his contributions to Islam in the then-British colony of Lagos and elsewhere. Born in 1824 in Sierra Leone, Shitta was said to have visited then-Ottoman Turkey in appreciation of his recognition. At its commissioning, the mosque was deemed the most modern and costliest ecclesiastical edifice in British West Africa. The Shitta-Bey Mosque, one of Nigeria’s national monuments, retains its unique architecture and interior designs, which were credited to Senghor Baptista Da Costa. Turkey and Nigeria maintain good relations afterwards. Both countries are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Developing Eight (D-8) and they maintain close cooperation in international organisations.
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There are many Turkish companies in Nigeria, operating mainly in the construction, manufacturing and energy sectors. As of 2016, there are 50 Turkish firms operating in Nigeria whose total investment has amounted to 419.5 million USD. Including the local partners’ shares, Turkish investment in Nigeria has reached 620 million USD.
Turkey has granted 28 undergraduate/graduate scholarships to Nigeria within the Turkish Government Scholarship Programmes (Turkiye Scholarships) between 2016 and 2017; now the number has increased due to the inducement of other governmental organisations with example of YTB, TIKA and DIYANET.
The two governments agreed to support each other in the fight against terrorism, human trafficking, drugs trafficking and arms trafficking.
Turkey specifically mentioned the menace of the Fethullah organisation, “FETO”, which they accused of terrorism and involvement in the abortive coup plot on July 15, 2016 which the Turkish population gallantly resisted. There are more than 1,000 FETO members in Nigeria, many of them accused of belonging to this organisation and for which reason their passports have been declared invalid by their country.
Nigeria has its problems with the Boko Haram terrorist organisation which claims ties to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS and (possibly) Daesh, (two international terrorist organisations which Turkey is up against) in the fight of which we get support from Turkey and we desire more. Both countries also have issues with domestic terror organisations for which they need each other’s help.
Nigeria and Turkey have also been discussing the possibility of working together on the challenges brought about by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees in the North East, especially that Turkey has the experience in handling about five million refugees in its territory.
While welcoming the high-level delegation coming to Nigeria from Turkey as reciprocal visit and probably complete the uncompleted mutual and bilateral agreements pending, like any other patriotic Nigerian, I am pleased with the friendly relations between Turkey and Nigeria, which have grown in leaps and bounds over the years. I look forward to a more fruitful cooperation between our governments and people in areas of mutual concern and interests, for the benefit of our people. May Allah continue to protect the two countries.
Dr. Abdulqadir Sulaiman Muhammad, Department of Islamic Studies, University of Abuja
