 Welcome back. Now, the president of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, says the terrorist who tried to remove him through a coup in 2016, a selective in Nigeria, recall that Erdogan had in 2016 accused allies of a renowned cleric, Fertila Gulen, who owned Turkish schools and hospitals across Nigeria, of sponsoring the coup. Now, Turkish envoy in Nigeria, Hakkann Gakil, had at that time called on Bahri to close the Turkish schools and hospitals in Nigeria, belonging to a group of private Turkish investors who are inspired by the philosophy of the Heismet movement. The Nigerian government had, however, rejected the proposal, causing tension between both countries. In what appears to be a reconciliation move, Erdogan told Bahri that his administration would share intelligence with Nigerian authorities. Now, joining us to discuss this is Michael Nketea, an international relations analyst. Many thanks for joining us on plus politics and plus TV Africa, Michael. Thanks for having me. All right. Let's start with the development that happened since 2016, and it has actually spiralled now into 2021. It's been five years since the attempt at coup, and the Turkish president on a two-day visit to Nigeria mentioned the fact that these alleged terrorists who tried to overthrow him are still in Nigeria. What does this really tell about the dimension that terrorism has taken in Nigeria? The categorization of people that others may consider as political dissidents in Nigeria as terrorists by the Turkish government is a bit problematic. It needs emphasizing that in 2016 when there was some form of military uprising against the government of President Tarif Erdogan, the Islamic cleric who is based in the United States of America was primarily blamed for the uprising in Turkey. So, categorizing or terming people who want a change in government, people who want to see an inform of leadership in Turkey, categorizing such an individual or such group of people as terrorists is a bit problematic to me. Second, based on current security challenges in Nigeria, I have my doubts that the government of President Muhabba the Buhari would give or provide a safe haven for people who also perceived to be engaging in other form of activities that are likely to destabilize a major country like Turkey. Currently, we are all witnesses to the instability in Nigeria as a result of the agitations by the Yoruba movement. Michael, if I have to button, sorry if I just have to button, just to understand you better right now, invariably what you are saying right now is that what the President of Turkey, Recep Erdogan is saying does not hold water in as much as he has said that his own country is in a battle in which the throes of terrorism and I'm sure that if he is saying that they are still active in Nigeria, they might have some sort of intelligent report or would you just say it should be outright dismissed? Well, I disagree with the President of Turkey or the Turkish government. I do not believe that those individuals, Turkish nationals who are in Nigeria are terrorists. I believe that these people are political dissidents. People who want to see a change in government in Turkey and I don't believe these people are terrorists and it also needs clarifying that what we are currently witnessing in Nigeria due to issues of insecurity, the threats posed by Boko Haram, separatist agitations by the Yoruba nation movement which was led by San Diego and also the Biafra movement led by Namdi Khan. I don't think the Nigerian government will provide a safe haven, haven for a modern individual group of individuals who are trying to also destabilize a modern country that would have been a clear contradiction to the policy direction of the Buhari administration. Those people in Nigeria may disagree with the Turkish government. They may be fighting for a change in leadership in Turkey but I do not believe that those people are terrorists and I believe that the Nigerian government should not in any way hand those people over to the Turkish government. It needs emphasizing that the Turkish government has a full human rights repose when it comes to the prosecution of people who are perceived as enemies of the state or openness of president, basically handing these individuals over to the Turkish government would warrant the idea indirect death sentence. So I believe that they are not terrorists. The Nigerian government is not providing a safe haven for them. These are just ordinary political incidents that need protection. All right, Michael, still to be clear. So invariably the administration of President Mohammed Buhari is actually doing the right thing for not actually closing down the Turkish school after all the claims and allegations in 2016. Plus you are saying that those who the president of Turkey has termed terrorists are primarily political distance just to be clear. Over time in Nigeria, there has been call to name those who perpetrate lots of violence here in the country as some terrorists. For instance, insurgents, bandits as it were and of course all the criminals that have terrorized the country in recent times. There have been renewed calls for the presidency to declare them terrorists. So if I may ask, how do you differentiate who are political dissidents and of course terrorists? A terrorist may be engaging in activities that threaten the sovereignty of states, either overthrowing the government, engineering or orchestrating armed attacks, financing armed attacks, activities that intends to create an environment and condition of fear and panic. But a political dissident is someone who is only interested in a change in government due to his or her disagreement with the current status quo of political leadership of his or her country. And such a dissident may be residing in another country due to perceived fear of repriser attacks on his or her life. So political dissidents or activists are clearly different from terrorists. Political dissidents, they do not finance the act of terrorism. They do not finance, engineer or engage or contract people to engage in armed attacks that threaten the sovereignty and the security of states. All those things are clearly the activities and motives of terrorist and political dissidents are only interested in change in the political landscape or status quo of his or her country without any result to armed violence or confrontation. All right, still the president of Turkey, that's a recent elegant actually called for cooperation in the fight against them, terrorism between both countries so that there could be some sort of success. But in your opinion, looking at all that has happened, you see a strange relationship, you know, you know, moving forward between Nigeria and Turkey? Well, in the last decade, since 2011, continuously Turkey has been a major training partner of Nigeria. And I believe that it serves the interests of both governments and states to collaborate, draw, draw in finding lasting solutions to these little bit of misunderstandings or standoff. I believe that there is a, if you look at the geographical position of Turkey, it falls right between the borders of Europe, it serves as a bridge between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. East neighbor, neighboring countries like Syria, Iraq, Syria and Iraq, even Yemen, all these countries are facing challenges of terrorism, issues of insecurity. Nigeria also have its own security issues. The threat of Boko Haram is still rare, the threat of bandits, of our heads, armed headsmen, the threats of agitations by the Biafra movement and even the Euroban nation agitations. Both countries face similar threats and I believe it is in the interests of the Buhari administration and also the package government to draw, draw, drink amicable solutions to these impasse and find ways and means to cooperate militarily to confront the threat of terrorism in both countries. We should note that Turkey currently is a major manufacturer of military appointments and weapons and the Nigerian government can count on the expertise of the package government with regards to the supplies of ammunition, tactical combat deployments and training to, to, to confront the threat of terrorism in Egypt. These are avenues that the Nigerian government can explore. Beyond that, trade presents a wonderful opportunity. Turkey continues to be a major trading partner for a majority of African countries and the Nigerian government can build a solid trade militia. All right. All right, thank you so much. Michael Nketea, international affairs analyst. We do appreciate your time and of course your thoughts and all of your input on the show today. Moving on, right now, we'll take a clip showing Nigerians reacting to the over 400 million they're budgeted for the presidency and vice-president in 2022. And afterwards, I'll be giving you my take. I can say the money is much compared to Nigerian condition now because an average man, how can you compare that such amount of money with the feeding of average man in Nigeria? That amount of money can feed over two million people in this country. So it is allocated to the presidency alone. So the money is, the money is even too much. It's too much for the presidency to feed himself and the vice-president with that such amount is too much. Once I cannot feed myself by another 15 years, 15 years as of this morning. So it doesn't make sense. I think it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous if you break down to how much they eat on a daily and you know that they are just being annoying. I'm sure Nigerians are tired of hearing of these things on a daily. So what the truth is, what can we do? Vote them out. That's what they say, but that's our vote really counts. Alright, the voice of the people there. And here is my take. In 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that about 83 million people lived below the poverty line in Nigeria. And we know that that number has probably gone up, saying that the pandemic caused many to lose just sources of livelihoods. Now the country and the rest of the world is going through a recession and economic challenges. A lot of Nigerians are forced to live lives that are below the normal standard of living. Now, every time the president shows up to give a speech or an address to other citizens, he edges them to persevere, promising that Nigerians would be better if they endured the hard times a little longer. But if Nigerians are forced to bear the perilous time, why not the president and his vice? Now in 2016, 103 million was for the president's feeding. Well, that of the vice president's feeding, gapped 24 million. Still a bit high, but fair. Our economy was relatively better. But from 127 million to over 450 million, in just about five years, that's over 100% increase. Nigerians are already tolerating the harsh economy. But these amount is insensitive to the needs of Nigerians. Many political pundits call for a decrease in the cost of governance. Can the president not hear us? Can our leaders not hear us? It is time to listen to us. The leaders we voted for in 2019, they should listen to us. It's high time these monies are chanted back to serve hunger in the land. And the meeting between the Turkish president and Nigerian officials is one of the best things that happened lately. It shows that the president has been warned, and to be forewarned is to be forearmed. The federal government seems to be sympathetic to terrorists. It should seat tight and stop paying leapservice to issues of security. Let president Buhari as a matter of urgency seek foreign assistance on Nigerians may just be captured by terrorists. And that's my take. Many thanks for being a part of the show. Plus politics return same time tomorrow. I am Justin Akadone. Bye for now.