Turkiye is planning to establish defence manufacturing facilities and military training centres in Nigeria as part of efforts to deepen security cooperation and raise bilateral trade to $5bn from its current level of about $2bn.
Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mehmet Poroy, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a press briefing marking 66 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
He said the proposed facilities would enable Nigeria to develop local capacity for producing military equipment, rather than relying solely on imports from Turkiye.
According to him, the initiative is among the measures being pursued to implement agreements reached during President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Turkiye earlier this year, which involved nine Nigerian ministers and produced nine agreements and memoranda of understanding.
“We are planning to have some local production unit also in that context, not only selling to Nigeria, the tools, equipment, that arms that it needs, but also the possibility of having local production here in Nigeria,” Poroy said.
On military capacity building, the ambassador revealed that 200 Nigerian special forces personnel were completing a two-month training programme in Turkiye.
He added that both countries were working towards establishing a military training facility in Nigeria, where Turkish military officers would provide continuous training for Nigerian troops.
“Actually, 200 Nigerian special forces personnel are in Turkey. They are finalising their two months’ training activity there.
“And after that, as the Honourable Minister of Defence already made it public, we are planning also to have a local training facility here in Nigeria. Not all the military people will be carried to Turkey, but in the presence of some Turkish officers to train them, we will have a continuous training activity for the Nigerian Army,” he said.
Poroy also offered Turkiye’s experience in combating terrorism to Nigeria, noting that his country had lost more than 40,000 people and committed billions of dollars to its 40-year battle against the menace.
He stressed that terrorism was a complex challenge requiring interventions beyond military operations, including economic and religious considerations.
“We have lost more than 40,000 people and have spent billions of dollars in our fight against terrorism. So, we know how difficult this is, to tackle all this issue. It’s very complicated, not only a military issue; there are other aspects, economic or religious. So, we are in consultations with the Nigerian side in order to share our expertise on the issue,” he said.
The envoy identified defence as a key pillar of the relationship between both countries, pointing out that Nigeria was already deploying Turkish-made attack helicopters and drones in its fight against insecurity, particularly in the northern region.
On trade, Poroy said the two countries had set a target of increasing bilateral trade to $5bn, from approximately $2bn currently, including oil and gas transactions.
He described the existing trade volume as relatively low when compared with Nigeria’s economic size and potential.
“The instruction is the goal is to have $5bn bilateral trade. So far, it is around $2bn, including oil and gas. When you see the huge Nigerian economy, $2bn is not something so important,” he said.
Poroy disclosed that Turkiye’s total trade with African countries stood at approximately $37bn, while its investments across the continent exceeded $10bn.
However, Turkish investments in Nigeria remained below $1bn, a situation he said both countries were seeking to address by encouraging more Turkish companies to explore opportunities in the Nigerian market.
He said he had visited the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry alongside the Turkish Commercial Counsellor to discuss ways of expanding commercial relations.
Similar engagements, he added, had been held with chambers of commerce in Kano, Kaduna and Lagos.
The ambassador also identified improved business-to-business interactions as critical to achieving the trade target, noting that the embassy was facilitating visa processes for Nigerian businesspeople.
“From our side, we also facilitate the visa procedures for businesspeople because without B2B contact, you cannot increase all these relations,” he said.
Beyond security and economic relations, Poroy said Turkiye had continued to support humanitarian interventions in Nigeria.
He disclosed that the Turkish Government recently provided food assistance to 3,000 internally displaced families in Adamawa State.
He also said Turkish non-governmental organisations, including the Turkish Religious Affairs Foundation, spent about $5m on humanitarian activities in Nigeria within the past year.
The interventions included food donations and the distribution of meat to vulnerable communities during Ramadan and Eid-el-Adha.
“Last year, this foundation and other NGOs in total, I’m talking about the last year, they spent $5m for the donation or the sacrifices, you know, during the Ramadan or after Eid-el-Adha, for meat. They were distributing meat to the people in need,” he said.
He said Turkiye intended to sustain the humanitarian support, while exploring a more structured arrangement with Nigerian authorities to improve coordination.
Tracing the historical relationship between both countries, Poroy said diplomatic contacts dated back to the 16th century, when the Ottoman Empire exchanged correspondence with the Kanem-Borno Sultanate.
He said documents recovered from Ottoman archives indicated that the Ottoman Sultan recognised the sovereignty of the Kanem-Borno Sultanate and instructed officials to accord its representatives friendly treatment and protect delegations travelling to Istanbul, including pilgrims.
The ambassador also cited the Shitta-Bey Mosque in Lagos as evidence of the longstanding historical connection.
According to him, the Ottoman Sultan sent a representative to the mosque's opening ceremony towards the end of the 19th century and conferred the title of Bey on its owner, Shitta.
Poroy explained that November 9, 1960, marked the elevation of diplomatic relations between Turkiye and Nigeria to ambassadorial level, barely five weeks after Nigeria attained independence on October 1, 1960.
He said Turkiye had opened a Consulate-General in Lagos on April 19, 1959, when Nigeria was still under British colonial rule, although its first ambassador arrived in Nigeria in 1962.
Describing Nigeria as a strategic partner, the envoy said the country remained important to security, stability and economic development in West Africa and the wider African continent.
He, however, called for stronger cultural relations between the two countries, announcing that an art exhibition titled In Nature, featuring works by his wife, would open at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Atrium Art Gallery on November 20.
He said deeper cultural exchanges would complement the expanding security, diplomatic and economic partnerships between Nigeria and Turkiye.
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