Turkish alleged ‘invasion’ of Nigeria

Joshua Ocheja

This is a rather sad topic for me. But it is a necessary in light of the recent happenings in Turkey and all around the world. I know some reading might be wondering why I am writing on this topic. Well, it is because this piece aims to objectify the face behind the gang of spies sent by the Turkish government to profile Hizmet movement participants in Nigeria.
I am not going to mince words. I am not going to be soft. This is because we cannot continue to have a situation where the Turkish Embassy would continue to insult our intelligence as a people. It started sometime last year when the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Hakan Cakir, made a request for the closure of Turkish schools and institutions in Nigeria.

From there, it extended to the massive deportation of Nigeria students in Turkey. It didn’t end there; Mohammed Abdullahi and Hassan Danjuma Adamu were detained by security agencies in Turkey for three months for no justifiable reason other than that they were found in the hostel of one of the closed universities in Turkey, Fathi University, of which they were students.

There was another request from the Turkish authorities, which was the transfer of Turkish schools to a newly established foundation called Maarif Foundation, which would be used to spread the wahhabi ideology because funding for its activities is from Saudi Arabia. It is also understood that it will be an espionage agency for opponents of the Turkish president in Nigeria and all around the world.
In Nigeria, although the Maarif Foundation request has been turned down, there is a certain Huseyin Oztunc who allegedly leads a gang of four Turkish secret service agents in Nigeria. What is their mission? Stalk and profile members of the Hizmet movement in Nigeria, and possibly kidnap and deport them to Turkey to the waiting hands of President Erdogan.

Something strange happened recently. I was privileged to have attended an international conference on Love and Tolerance with the theme “Countering Extremism through Peace, Education and Love, organised by UFUK Dialogue Initiative, an NGO founded in 2011 in Nigeria with the mission to foster interfaith and inter-cultural dialogue, and peace all over the world by providing a common platform for education and information exchange.

The conference was well attended by dignitaries including His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Onwuka, and many others from the diplomatic community, clergy, students, military and all other critical stakeholders.

This was a conference Oztunc, and his gang allegedly decided to disrupt by planting moles in the audience to cause chaos. How did it play out? He was in the hall with his gang, and when it was time for questions from the audience, a young Nigerian fellow was given the opportunity to speak. When he grabbed the microphone, all hell was let loose. “The leader of UFUK Dialogue Fethullah Gulen is a terrorist. They planned a coup in Turkey last year. UFUK Dialogue should not be preaching to us in Nigeria because they are terrorists,” he said. Immediately Oztunc left the hall. For him, the mission was accomplished.

This was just one out of the numerous instances where Huseyin Oztunc and his marauding gang have continued to cause discomfort for participants of the Hizmet movement in Nigeria.  But luckily, the audience registered their displeasure with the unruly fellow, who spoke ignorantly and apparently out of inducement from Huseyin Oztunc and his gang. They also visit schools and other investments belonging to participants of the Hizmet movement in Nigeria, take photographs, video record and stalk these people with so much impunity.

But who is Huseyin Oztunc? He is a Turkish citizen based in Abuja. He is on the payroll of the Turkish Embassy; he claims to be the President of MUSAID, a supposedly Turkish NGO in Abuja. I am taking this pain to write because it is time for the relevant authorities in Nigeria to act; else we might wake up one day and see legitimate businesses that are contributing to the growth of Nigeria destroyed by the ongoing politics in Turkey. In previous articles I have written, I have stated that Turkish politics should be left in Turkey because Nigeria is a sovereign nation.

The likes of Huseyin Oztunc and the Turkish Ambassador Hakan Cakil have taken us for a ride for too long.
Some days back, the Turkish ambassador granted an interview stating that Turkey has no reason to spy on Nigeria. After reading the interview, I was sad, because that interview was nothing but a mockery of the Nigerian nation when it was indeed glaring that espionage activities are ongoing.

I can say this for a fact because I have friends who are Hizmet movement participants, I interact with them often and believe me, there is nothing untoward about the Hizmet movement. For them, in their words and actions, what resonates is service to humanity. But their lives are endangered.
This seeming impunity by the Turkish ambassador and his cohorts has to stop.

And the relevant agencies of government have to act. It is not enough to accuse a group of plotting a coup. Where is the evidence linking this group to the coup? In Nigeria, we play by the rules. I am aware the authorities have asked that evidence is provided, but till date, none has surfaced. Instead, it has been blackmail, arm-twisting and different methodologies in ensuring that Hizmet movement participants are demonised and their businesses ruined.

In this case, Nigerians have to rise to the occasion and ensure that the persecution of Hizmet movement participants is halted without further delay. It is pertinent to state that Hizmet movement affiliated institutions in Nigeria have over 2000 Nigerians in their employ. Are we saying we would be willing to let those whose preoccupation in Nigeria is operating a furniture sales outlet and a visa racketing syndicate at the Turkish Embassy, destroy investments that have been putting smiles on the faces of Nigerians in the critical sectors of education and health?
The answer is a huge no. They should be questioned by the security agencies because this is Nigeria and not Turkey.

Ocheja, expert on conflict studies, is an alumnus of the Nigerian Defence Academy.

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