By James Jibril
The President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered to help Nigeria in dealing with its numerous security challenges.
According to a statement by the spokesperson to the Nigerian President, Garba Shehu, the Turkish leader, Erdogan made the offer in a bilateral meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, shortly before the official commencement of the 3rd Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit in Istanbul on Friday and also said that he was happy to receive President Buhari shortly after he paid an official visit to Nigeria.
“Turkey understands the challenges facing Nigeria and its needs, and we are ready to assist you to meet those needs especially in the area of defense.
‘‘I am happy Nigeria is stepping up cooperation with other nations in areas of defense and health, and we are ready to cooperate with you on these areas and more,” President Erdogan said.
In his response, President Buhari acknowledged that Turkey had garnered a lot of experience dealing with security challenges of various kinds and Nigeria will latch onto that experience to deal with insecurity in Nigeria.
President Buhari said: “Turkey has practical experience dealing with challenges over the years and Nigeria stands to gain from that.”
Giving assurances that the relationship between the two states will continue to grow for the mutual benefits of both countries, President Buhari said he was pleased with the Turkish offer of support in the area of security and peace in Nigeria.
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“I wish to express my appreciation for the special invitation for this meeting and to express my happiness with your offer of assistance in dealing with the challenges facing us.
‘‘I await the reports of officials and the ministers as they hold meetings with their counterparts. I assure you that I will endorse all their positive recommendations,” President Buhari assured Erdogan.
Earlier, the President of Turkey said his country welcomed the Nigerian government’s decision to buy naval ships from their shipyard, noting that discussions are ongoing on how to strengthen the capacity of the Defence Industries Corporation (DICON) in Kaduna in line with an agreement signed during President Erdogan’s last State Visit.
Turkey has growing recognition in the world as a military power and had successes to show in Iraq, Syria, Libya and lately Azerbaijan.
