Turkmen Terzi
After decades of neglecting the continent, Turkey has finally decided to turn its attention to Africa, with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) declaring 2005 “‘The year of Africa”.
The AKP signed a trade and co-operation agreement with 45 countries in Africa, while Turkish contractors completed $70 billion worth of projects. Turkey’s trade volume with Africa has increased fivefold during the past two decades, reaching the $25bn mark in 2020. Of course, business communities and Turkish NGOs contributed significantly toward this.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has, together with his family, become the sole beneficiary of Turkey’s hard-earned achievements in Africa. The display by the Djibouti Armed Forces of a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drone, in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of Independence Day, is testimony to the manner in which Erdogan’s family have benefited from Turkey’s Africa-opening. Erdogan’s son-in-law, Selcuk Bayraktar, is the chief technology officer of the defence company, Baykar, that produces Turkey’s Bayraktar drones.
Turkey’s former president Abdullah Gul supported Turkish business people from all segments of society. He supported the Gulen Movement, which reached Africa through its educational institutions, aid organisations and business associations, well before the AKP did. Gul visited Hizmet-affiliated schools in Africa, praising their mobilisation in the name of education on the continent. Erdogan, on the other hand, declared war on the Hizmet Movement and accused the movement of orchestrating the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. Fethullah Gulen, the spiritual leader of the movement, denies any involvement in the coup attempt.
Erdogan’s purge of the Hizmet Movement has negatively impacted Turkish investments and charity works in Africa. The Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (Tuskon), which was forced to dissolve in the wake of the alleged coup attempt, was the pioneer organisation facilitating Turkey’s investments in Africa, with its more than 50 000 business members. A Tuskon board member confirmed the information that, between 2006 to 2014, Tuskon organised 12 Africa-Turkey Business Summits. More than 30 000 Turkish business people participated in these and an estimated 12 billion business deals were signed between Turkish and African business people as a result of the summits. Hundreds of Turkish businessmen invested in Africa through Tuskon’s Africa programmes.
Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) was a humanitarian aid and development organisation that operated around 31 branches throughout Turkey and in 113 countries worldwide. The aid organisation ran several hospitals, orphanages, massive food distributions, water-well projects and free medical scanning campaigns, together with many other charity works, several times each year in many parts of the world including Africa. The Erdogan government shut down Kimse Yok Mu, putting an end to their operations as well as an end to many other charity activities of Turkish people in Africa.
The education institutes of the Hizmet Movement were among the largest investments of Turkey in Africa for decades, until they were illegally shut and seized by Erdogan. Erdogan has made more visits to Africa than any other non-African leader. He has also allegedly bribed many African leaders to shut the educational institutions. Thus, thousands of African students in Senegal, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda and many other African countries had their education abruptly cut short.
Besides the Gulen Movement, many other individual business people and Turkish NGOs were forced to stop their business trips and charity programmes in Africa as Turkey began suffering from a huge economic crisis under the Erdogan rule.
According to several media reports and official statements, the Erdogan government has sealed defence co-operation deals with more than 25 African countries and Turkey is selling Bayraktar drones to major African countries, among them Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, Rwanda and Algeria. Since the success of Turkish drones in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh war, Libya and Ukraine, African leaders have been encouraged to order Bayraktar drones. AFP reported that Turkey has set up a web of 37 military offices across Africa.
Erdogan is notorious for being an untrustworthy ally who has taken advantage of the rift between the US and Russia and now between Ukraine and Russia. Erdogan is a leader who accused Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s “closest” associates of being behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was Erdogan’s friend. An Istanbul court closed the case into the killing of Khashoggi just five days before Salman's visit to Ankara. The AU has fought long and hard to solve political and military crises in the continent but Erdogan’s drone sales to Africa could jeopardise AU peace efforts as Erdogan will not hesitate to sell arms to warring parties on the continent.
The Star
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