Arewa Youth groups carrying out a campaign of calumny against the Turkish government have been advised to sheath their swords and curb their unnecessary by a coalition of youth groups across the country.
Speaking via a statement which was signed by a number of civil society groups in Abuja recently, the coalition said it had caught wind of a plan by young, unscrupulous elements in the region to embark on a series of actions and protests against the Turkish government, the good people of Turkey and the Turkish Embassy in Nigeria, over what it called “trumped up, fictional reasons” borne of “ulterior motives.”
The statement, signed by the national coordinator, Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative and convener, Civil Society Advocacy Groups, Comrade Solomon Addodo; President-general, Southern Nigeria Youth Council, Comrade Nse Victor Udoh; Executive Director, Middlebelt Youth Alliance, Dr Balarabe Musa; National President, Coalition of North Central Youth, Comrade Okpanachi Jacob; President, Oodua Youth Congress, Otunba Gbolahan Adeyemi; Speaker, Arewa Youth Parliament, Dr Bashir Maru, as well as the publisher of Leadership Scorecard Magazine and the chief convener, Humphrey Onyima, said it remained imperative to draw the attention of the public early to the fact that the governments of Nigeria and Turkey have enjoyed a healthy bilateral relationship spanning many decades, with mutual benefits accruing to both governments and people of both nations.
“Records show that Turkey remains a choice destination for Nigerian international students, businessmen, tourists and healthcare patients. The relationship Nigeria enjoys with Turkey cannot and should not be compromised on the plinth of inanities, needless meddlesomeness and spurious allegations against the Turkish government,” the statement cautioned.
It continued: “For the records, it is needful to state that, following the botched coup attempt of July 15, 2016, the Turkish government has beamed her lens on terrorist and militarist groups and their allies within the Turkish sovereignty, coming down hard on these anti-democratic elements of national retrogression.
“The Turkish government has further furnished respective governments of nations in which FETO terrorist Organizations operate to cooperate with them and ensure that these elements are brought to book. In Nigeria as a nation these terrorist groups under the FETO, namely UFUK Dialogue and Hizmet Movement-sponsored organisations, have found a safe nestling spot and this ought not to be. It should be reiterated that the Turkish government has not moved against any of her citizens carrying out their lawful duties neither has the government sought to repress or oppress any organisation or individual carrying out their lawful duties within the precincts of the relevant Turkish laws.”
The group condemned “every element of the sinister, ill-conceived and jaundiced plans of a section of Arewa Youth groups to embark on protests against the Turkish government and her Embassy in Nigeria. The ebullient energies of these young folks should rather be channeled into addressing issues of national concern plaguing our own people and, in particular, the heart-rending humanitarian challenge that has been visited on the Northern region of our dear country.
“It is also advisable that these energetic young Nigerians use the reserve of their strength to assist the Turkish government in chasing out terrorist linked organisation/businesses operating in Nigeria out of the country. This would do us a whole lot more good,” the statement read.
