Nigeria Is A Beautiful Country, Says Ougoing Turkiye Ambassador

… Calls For Enhanced Collaboration On Culture, Tourism, Terrorism Fight

Goodbyes are meant for deep reflections on what was once shared, and although they make us so emotional at times, they are undoubtedly inevitable.

This is the case as Turkiye ambassador to Nigeria, His Ex­cellency, Amb. Hidayet Bayraktar, having completed his 4-year ten­ure, prepares to bid farewell to the most populous black nation.

Amb. Bayraktar was in Lagos between Wednesday and Sunday, February 12 to 16 for his final vis­it to Nigeria’s commercial capi­tal and met with different stake­holders and groups who have, in a way, been instrumental to his successes since his assumption of office in Nigeria on April 16, 2021.

Top on the list was his meet­ing with the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, where they exchanged ideas on various issues, including trade and cul­tural exchange and potential partnerships in areas of tourism, education and so on.

The Turkiye envoy, who began his diplomatic career in 1989, also visited the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company Ltd. where he met with Africa’s rich­est man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman, Dangote Group of Companies.

He noted that the scale of in­vestment at the facility located at the Free Trade Zone, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, can change the future of Nigeria.

“The main resource over here in Nigeria is petrol, and if you use the resource well, the wealth will be shared among the people. I think Dangote has the vision to do this, and I hope he will suc­ceed. I wish the best for Nigeri­ans, and insha ‘Allah, they will have a better future.”

The Ambassador paid courte­sy visits to Turkiye’s firms in La­gos and also hosted the renowned Muhammad Shitta-Bey family and the Muslim News Nigeria Team, who have supported in pro­moting the laudable educational and humanitarian programmes of the Turkiye government over the years in Nigeria.

Amb. Bayraktar received the Muslim News Nigeria Team led by its Publisher, Rasheed Abu­bakar and other Editorial Board members at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos, on Sunday, Febru­ary 16th, 2025. The team includ­ed Alhaji Tajudeen Adebanjo, Shakirah Adunola, Zulaykha Abodunrin and Abdul Waheed Shotonwa.

Nigeria Has Immense Po­tential

Bayraktar described Nigeria as a beautiful country with im­mense potential, saying he would deeply miss the most populous country in Africa and the won­derful people of Nigeria.

According to him, “The people are very nice. I would miss them. What is important, of course, is to know Nigerians and to under­stand them. Once you know them, your friendship becomes very strong. You have a bond. This is what I can say about Nigeria and my friendship with Nigerians. It’s a beautiful country. It is huge, immense and diverse. I wish the best for the country.”

Amb. Bayraktar, who visited different states including Kano, Jigawa, Akwa-Ibom, Ekiti, Edo, Taraba, and Lagos during his of­ficial assignment, said Nigeria is a huge country and should har­ness its economic, population and richness for greater development.

He called on Nigerians to tap into the agricultural sector, espe­cially in the rural area, which he considered as one of the biggest opportunities in Nigeria.

He, however, said for this to be sustainable, there is a need to embrace technology.

Nigeria, Turkiye Share Sim­ilar Cultures

A graduate of Internation­al Relations from the Faculty of Political Sciences, Ankara University, Hidayet Bayraktar said Turkiye and Nigeria share similar diverse cultures, noting that people of the two countries regard the family as very import­ant.

He said the Turkish nationals in Nigeria enjoy the Nigerian environment, and that some of them have even taken the step of marrying Nigerians.

“It’s a beautiful country. You have more potential than you think. There’s so much to be done over here. Nigeria has fer­tile land, and the soil is very rich for agriculture and cultivation. Of course, you have the man­power. You only need to invest in vocational training for the youngsters.

“As I said, you have the intel­lectual capacity. You have the Deputy Secretary-General at the UN (Hajia Aminah Mohammad) and Director General at the World Trade Organisation (Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala), among others, on the world stage.

“I think Nigeria needs to take this credit accordingly. The weight of Nigeria in Africa is huge. The economy, population and its richness from the North to the South. You need to take advantage of this and do more. These are things that you can achieve. Every country achieves this, so why not Nigeria? Just do more work, more determination, you can do it,” he said.

Promotion of cultural un­derstanding

Amb. Bayraktar stated that one of the strategies he adopted in promoting mutual cultural understanding is providing a platform for Nigerian artists to showcase their art.

“As an embassy, I try to pro­mote young Nigerian artists. I allow them to show their art in our embassy and especially for the foreigners. Nigerians who live in Abuja have the oppor­tunity to see the exhibition of Turkiye. This has promoted the understanding of culture, for us to know each other, especially in the area of culture.”

His mandate in Nigeria as Envoy

While speaking on his man­date at the Turkish Embassy in Abuja, Amb. Bayraktar said his responsibility was to promote the relationship between Turki­ye and Nigeria.

“We aim to promote the rela­tionship between the two coun­tries, politically, economically, socially, defence-wise, and of course, to take care of the rights of Turkish citizens and compa­nies over here. This is our aim, this is our job, this is the mandate of the embassy. And we’ve done it,” he said.

Amb. Bayraktar recalled the 2-day visit of Turkiye President, Recep Tayip Erdogan, to Nige­ria in 2021, few months after he assumed office as Ambassador, during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He noted that the meeting be­tween the two leaders highlight­ed the purpose of his mission in Nigeria as an envoy.

According to him, there was the signing of eight Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements between the two countries, including energy, de­fence industry and hydrocarbons, among others. Also, agreements that would drive Turkish inves­tors to Nigeria were deliberated upon, saying his expectation is for the Nigerian government to accelerate things on their side.

“The agreements waiting for ratification are Agreement on Reciprocal Promotion and Pro­tection of Investments (2011) and Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation (2021). My ex­pectation from the Nigerian side is to make things faster. We have signed these agreements, and it was supposed to commence im­mediately, but we are still waiting for implementation.

“These are very key agree­ments for the business commu­nity. If we have these agreements, the traders on the commercial side and the investment side will do more business here. The Ni­gerian business community will also benefit from this.

“This is a huge market. You have a 230 million population. By 2050, Nigeria is expected to be the third most populous country in the world, after India and China. So, these are important things because you have a young gen­eration. The young generation needs work and employment. Of course, you need investment for them to get a job and to have bet­ter welfare,” he said.

Collaboration in combat­ing terrorism, joint military training

Amb Bayraktar stressed the existing collaboration on combat­ing terrorism between Turkiye and Nigeria, saying President Er­dogan’s led government supports Nigeria in terms of national se­curity

He said, “I will say the Nige­rian defence industry has done very well. Of course, Both coun­tries are regional powers in their respective areas, and they have the same challenges: terrorism and insecurity. Thus, we’re collab­orating to strengthen the security architecture of the two countries.

“The Nigerian defence indus­try has acquired unmanned Ae­rial Vehicles and attack helicop­ters from Turkiye, among other military gadgets. It’s part of the collaboration for the Nigerian army to go to Turkiye to train. We have pilots and technicians, too, trained in Turkiye. It’s a huge investment for both coun­tries and, of course, a long-term collaboration.

“You know, Turkiye started to build its military gadgets, and it has been proven to be the best. Maybe in the future, we can share our technology with Nigeria, similar to what we did in Indone­sia where both countries agreed to establish a joint venture to de­velop unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for military use in the Southeast Asian nation. This will further empower many Ni­gerians and reduce the problem of brain drain,” he added.