Turkey to double Nigeria scholarships

The Turkish government has granted scholarships to 29 Nigerian students for the 2016-17 academic session and efforts would be made to double the number in the next academic year, the Turkish ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, has said. Cakil said the new scholarship awarded to the Nigerian students is a clear example of Turkey’s willingness […]

The Turkish government has granted scholarships to 29 Nigerian students for the 2016-17 academic session and efforts would be made to double the number in the next academic year, the Turkish ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, has said.
Cakil said the new scholarship awarded to the Nigerian students is a clear example of Turkey’s willingness of developing relations with Nigeria in the field of education.
He said, in an interview in Abuja, that both countries have enjoyed excellent relations in the field of education and the recent situation in Turkey where some foreigners were deported did not only affect Nigerians but other foreigners and was not meant to clampdown on Nigerian students.
He said more than 3,000 Nigerian students were studying in different Turkish universities.
The Turkish government had closed down over 2,000 schools, dormitories and universities for links with the botched July coup.  A total of 294 Nigerian students, Cakil said, were affected by the closure.
He added that they had been transferred to state-owned universities in the same city where their former schools were located.
The envoy however said that both Nigeria and Turkey enjoy “cordial” relation, saying that his country would not pursue any policy against its strategic partner.
“Our interest is to develop our relation with Nigeria in all affairs. We love Nigeria and its people. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Nigeria last March shows the importance we attach to the relationship. We consider Nigeria as our strategic partner. We will not adopt any policy against Nigeria,” he said.