Association applauds Nigeria’s quiet diplomacy over Turkey crisis
NAN-H-28
Association
By Monday Ijeh
Abuja, Dec. 1, 2016 (NAN) Mr Cemal Yigit, President, Association of Turkish People in Nigeria (ATPEN), has commended the quiet diplomacy adopted by the Federal government in resolving knotty issues affecting Nigeria over Turkey’s failed coup.
Yigit hailed Nigeria’s “matured diplomacy’’ on Thursday in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said the calmness and the “African wisdom” adopted by Nigerian Government when some of its citizens were detained by the Turkish Government after the failed coup attempt was worthy of commendation.
He said the pressure mounted on Nigerian government to close down businesses of some Turks accused of being involved in the country’s failed coup was enough for any country to compromise.
“Your wisdom in Africa is something else; you do your own with diplomacy and I am sure Nigeria is showing its reaction to the Turkish authority.
“Unlike other countries, you don’t speak out everything, you deal with the problem in your own way and I do really respect your approach.
“When there was pressure from President Erdogan that businesses be closed, Nigeria calmly and diplomatically ask for evidence.
“It is a proof that Nigeria is a sovereign state and a proof that the country cannot be manipulated,” he said.
Yigit advocated patience as the only way to restore normalcy in Turkey, adding that it can take the country another 15 years to recover from its crisis.
“We have to be patient because there is no other way out and most importantly activism is very necessary and that is what we are doing right now.
“Erdogan has managed to mobilise about half of the country’s population and are ready to die for him while the other half are being prosecuted.
“With this division, we are not expecting that the problem will be solved in the next election and cannot be reversed before 2019,” he said.
Yigit said the problem in Turkey was not only political but that the current government had broken the country’s social fabric.
“Social cohesion is deliberately harmed, so even if we have good politicians promising good things, there are enemies on the streets,” he said. (NAN)
IMC/DO/MST
Edited by David Onilede/Muhammad Suleiman Tola