ow should FG handle Turkey’s arrest of 50 Nigerian students?

I think the whole thing is political, otherwise, both Nigeria and Turkey have, at least, business relationship. I believe Turkey has (tertiary) institutions in Nigeria; if that is the case, it is something that could be resolved between the two governments without necessarily putting innocent ones into unnecessary tension and problem. By my view, whatever must have necessitated it, the two governments should sit at a round table and iron the issues out, so that the innocent students could be released to go back to their schools. If they have found anything unusual in the behaviour of those that are in detention, they should let our government know and if they don’t want them in their country, Turkey, then they should repatriate them. If it is mere politics, I think they need to be released and allowed to go about their academic pursuits. Two wrongs don’t make a right. That is the more reason why the two ambassadors need to sit down together and iron issues out. By closing down the Turkish schools in Nigeria, government would only be creating more enemies. But if they find out that the blame belongs to Turkey, then their schools here also could be closed down. If they are saying they don’t want any relationship with Nigeria, then the embassy here should be closed down. The two countries should temper justice with mercy. The students should not be punished unnecessarily. •Joseph Coleman (Father of Turkey-based Nigerian students)

The issue is complicated. I would not want to believe that they were arrested just because they are studying there or because they are beneficiaries of the scholarships of the alleged plotters of the failed coup. Things are so difficult in Nigeria that many Nigerian students seek support from different quarters abroad. In the process of seeking assistance, some of them could fall easily and become instruments in the hands of strange people. It is difficult to identify the reason for their involvement without actually investigating. I don’t think they would just arrest them because they are on the scholarship of so and so sponsors. What the Federal Government should do is to insist that the students be thoroughly investigated.

But if they have nothing to do with the coup and they were arrested simply because the originators of the coup gave some of the students scholarships, the Federal Government should intervene. The Federal Government should be realistic and work hand in hand with the Turkish government to get to the root of the matter. Questions to ask include: Were they involved in the coup? To what extent were they involved? What is their level of guilt, if there is any? The Federal Government should assist the students with lawyers and insist that they should be properly investigated. If they are found to be involved and the evidence is intimidating, that would be another level of intervention. For now, I think if someone left his country for a purpose and that purpose is not what he is pursuing abroad, and he is involving in illegalities, we should not condone that. This is irrespective of whatever nation such a fellow comes from. Let the Federal Government ensure that it has representatives among those that would investigate the students to ensure there is fair play. •Kolawole Ogundowole (A Professor of Philosophy, University of Lagos)

Beyond the immediate need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to respond quickly and positively to the arrest and incarceration of the 50 Nigerian students in Turkey lies the necessity, at this point in time, more than ever before for the Federal Government and state governments all over Nigeria to resuscitate our dying education system, particularly, the tertiary education system. It is the very sorry state of our education system that has created a situation in which young Nigerians, supported by their elite and middle-class parents, are now wandering in practically all the nooks and crannies of the world in search of education. We are talking about Turkey now; Nigerians are in Ukraine, a country where a war is raging. They are in all sorts of places all over the world looking for education. If in the long run, we want to prevent Nigerians from being arbitrarily arrested overseas while they are searching for education, from being killed in the United Arab Emirates as it happened to Aisha Falode’s son, from being brutalised all over the place, the thing to do is to fix our education system and turn it into a revenue earner in the face of evaporating foreign exchange. •Jiti Ogunye (Human rights lawyer)

First, we need to understand that Nigerian students don’t enjoy immunity abroad. They are not diplomatic officials. So, they are liable to be prosecuted for any offence they commit abroad. The best thing that the Federal Government can do is to employ diplomatic means. We, presently, don’t have any leverage over Turkey. The only option available to us is to follow the diplomatic path. The government should appeal to the Turkish ambassador in Nigeria to reach out to the home government in order to ensure a timely release of the students. They can even appeal for pardon for them.

But if the action of the Turkish government is a vendetta move, then Nigeria should also apply the principle of reciprocity and ensure that if Turkey has some companies here, the government should consider the option of closing the companies, even if it is temporary. But I don’t think it is a vendetta because based on the aftermath of the coup, many people were arrested from different backgrounds. I don’t think it is a personal attack. Let the investigative process be credible and if they are innocent, let the students come back home. Professor Dauda Saleh (Department of Political Science, UNIABUJA)

I think we should first ask why Nigerian students are going out to study abroad. If we fix our educational system, we will stop this exodus or education tourism. Considering the amount of money we are losing, it calls for concern. I was told that the Nigerian embassy is employing diplomatic measures. The matter should be properly investigated. The most important thing about diplomacy is that it is give and take. In matters of diplomacy, one has to be careful. If you close down Turkish schools in Nigeria or other stringent measures and they kill the students, what would be the gain? The primary responsibility of our government is to protect and preserve the lives of the citizens. If they can do anything that would ensure the release of the detained students, it would be in the best interest of Nigeria.

But ultimately, we have to address the issue of why our youths are going abroad for education in places that ordinarily would not have been of interest to them. Many of them are taking risks by going to volatile areas because they are seeking cheep education. So, if you allow your citizens to go to unsafe environments, then you have to manage the aftermath. I think it was wrong on our part to have created a situation that makes young citizens of this country seek educational opportunities in unstable environments such as Turkey and some parts of the Middle East. What we should do is to fix our education system. If we fix our education system, there would be lesser crises in Nigerian universities. If we listen to those who know the root of the crises such as staff unions, particularly ASUU, things would change. We know the root of the crises in Nigerian universities. We have proffered a number of solutions. If the government listens and do what it is expected to do, we will have less of these volatile situations on our hands. In the 50s and 60s, the citizens of other countries were coming to Nigeria for education, but these days, it is a one-way traffic. That should stop. •Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi (National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities)

I expect that the Federal Government by now should have got in touch with the government of Turkey. We have an ambassador to the country over there; the Federal Government should have got in touch with them and found out what is happening and asked for the immediate release of the students. It is an inter-government relationship and I think we don’t have a bad relationship with the government of Turkey. So, the (Nigerian) government should get in touch with the Turkish government immediately to ask it to release our students before any other thing can be done. I would say the arrest of the Nigerian students is a political move because they feel the two countries no longer have a good relationship, or else why would they have selected just Nigerians students, over 50 of them? There are students of other nationalities over there, so, it is purely political. The Federal Government should not take it lightly. It should do everything possible to make sure we get out of this position we currently find ourselves. The National Association of Nigerian Students is demanding that our students are released; in the next few days, we will go to the Turkish embassy to lock up the place to make sure they pass across our message to the government of Turkey and get our students out. •Aruna Kadiri (President, National Association of Nigerian Students)