Turkey plans to put NTIC, others under its management | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
15th July 2019
The Turkish government has concluded plans to take over the operations of the Nigeria Tulip International Colleges (NTIC) and other Fetullah Organisation (FETO) in Nigeria.
In order to achieve that, the Turkish government would be using the about to be established  Turkish Maarif Foundation (TMF) to run the schools in order to ensure that students there do not suffer any set back.
Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Melih Ulueren, made this known on Monday, 15th July in Abuja at an event to commemorate the third anniversary of the 2016 Turkish coup.
The Fetullah group was alleged to be behind the  failed coup attempt, which claimed about 250 lives.
Mr Ulueren admitted that since the school had helped to boost relations in the past between Nigeria and Turkey, it was believed that closing down the schools was not the best.
EduCeleb.com gathered that FETO is currently present in around 160 countries, with thousands of schools, businesses, NGOs and media houses.
Back in 2017, the Turkish government dissociated itself from the NTIC and unsuccessfully attempted to shut down the schools until some restructuring was done.
Ulueren claimed that the proscribed group’s modus operandi is the same all around the world, as they aim to infiltrate and enlarge their global economic and political influence; they constitute a direct security threat for any country where they operate.
In his words, “You may think FETO is a benign civic education movement, as some circles try hard to portray but that would be a huge mistake. It would be a huge mischaracterisation to think of Gulen merely as a peaceful Islamic scholar and preacher.
“These so-called Gulenists constitute a typical case of radicalisation by a cult of personality. They believe that Gulen is the Messiah and that they are the golden generation.
“Their loyalty is to him only, making them violate any legal, religious or ethical codes to advance the interests of this group.”
Following the failed coup, President Tayyip Erdrogan had designated the group a terrorist organisation.
The ambassador emphasised this stating that the  “Fetullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation is a new generation terrorist organisation that is based on hypocrisy, concealment and secrecy.”
“This is an organisation that has two tiers. The first layer is the legal and visible side. On appearance, Fetullah Gulen leads a civil movement called “Hizmet”.
On paper, “Hizmet” is a moderate, tolerant, non-violent and pro-dialogue social movement. The variety of associations in media, education, humanitarian work, banking and business associations etc were established first in Turkey and later in different parts of the world.
“But there is another tier, a darker underbelly of this organisation. Under the guise of legitimate social service efforts, Gulen and his followers gained access to vast financial resources, human capital, political and social influence.
“Such vast wealth and influence have not been accumulated through legal conduct of business. It involved money laundering, bribing and operations through shady firms.
“It also involved in destroying rivals through abusing state authority, which they acquired by infiltrating state structures, including the police, judiciary and finance.
“Let me say loud and clear; FETO is a mafia-like cultish organisation with clandestine political aims.”