Boko Haram: Nigeria, Turkey in partnership to deal with insurgents

President Muhammadu Buhari and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday vowed to increase the level of security and economic cooperation between Turkey and Nigeria.

Speaking after talks at Erdogan’s palace, Buhari and the Turkish leader vowed to increase investment and cooperate in the fight against extremist groups including Boko Haram jihadists.

According to Buhari, “there are a lot of potentialities in terms of investment. Already a lot is being done in the education and the health sectors.
“This will be strengthened and Nigeria is prepared to receive Turkish business people to come and explore more of Nigeria’s potentialities,” he added.
On his part, Erdogan said he believed both sides would push trade volumes above $1.245 billion.
He also said he saw no difference between Boko Haram and Islamic State (IS) and the group of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen blamed for the 2016 failed coup.

The Turkish leader said: “Turkish business people are ready to take on the development of Nigeria.
“On the issue of insurgency, Boko Haram and ISIS are the killers who feed off the blood of the innocent,” he said.
Asked how Turkey could help Nigeria defeat Boko Haram, Erdogan replied that intelligence cooperation was of the utmost importance.
President Buhari will on Friday travel to Istanbul to attend a summit of the Developing-8 (D-8), a grouping of growing mainly-Muslim countries.

It comprises Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

President Muhammadu Buhari and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday vowed to increase the level of security and economic cooperation between Turkey and Nigeria.