There was this one time I was in Turkey; I had studied so much about Turkish History as an undergraduate and I was fascinated with the stories of Sultan Murad, Memhet, Suleyman and Kemal Ataturk (who happened to be the father of modern Turkey). I had followed their development from a backwater country straddled between Asia and Europe and the bedrock of the civilization of Asia Minor! Turkey has a fascinating history!
That country is no pushover; they conquered Constantinople in the 15th century from the Holy Roman Empire about 1457, renamed it Istanbul and converted the largest Catholic Church in Asia Minor to a mosque. That was Hagia Sophia completed in 1292AD by the Roman Emperor…whom on the opening day, took a look at the edifice, and declared “Solomon, I have outdone thee”. Hagia Sophia is now used as a museum but both Christians and Muslims worship there. Just 15minutes by taxi from the Galatasaray Stadium area…
They went on to take on Vienna and Budapest! Occupied the whole of what we called Yugoslavia and threatened Rome! They share a border with Russia across the Bosphorus and are holding their own against that country and Iran!
I had assumed Turkey to be a backwater quasi European country with ragheads chanting Islamic rhymes and threatening modernity! I was in for a pleasant surprise!
Turkey is a modern country; definitely European and they are no Islamic fanatics. In fact, I personally do NOT see them as Muslims because they don’t give a frigging damn about Islam! Churches everywhere! In Istanbul, beer and other liquors are as abundant as the waters of the Mediterranean they abut! Oh! That’s just Istanbul, right? So I went to Adana and Mersin just on the border with Iraq and Syria! And there were more liquors and less Muslims! How then is Turkey an Islamic country? But I digress…
First, I was amazed at the sheer size of the Istanbul airport! Whaaat? It’s huge, neat, modern and has more facilities than most US and Western European airports I’ve been to! One fascinating thing about Turkey is that for one to get a visa, you must state that you shall be going over with the Turkish airlines in the first place! Visa takes about 15 minutes…with a caveat! And it’s online! With this, the government generates mega funds for the Turkish Airlines!
Okay, I was wowed by Istanbul and Ankara alright. Cosmopolitan cities! The English language is spoken by almost everyone and you’re very much at home! So I flew 820km with my team to Adana…then we drove about 120km from Adana to Mersin. That trip left my heart pounding and my jaw dropping; Nigeria has failed itself as an entity!
From Adana to Mersin, there were over 20 towns and cities. The roads were synonymous to the Autobahns I see in Germany and the interstate roads of the USA…well, better! Every inch of the 120km stretch between the two cities was cultivated! Community and industrial farms everywhere! Then the factories…
The whole country was soaked with factories! Factories and manufacturing firms everywhere! Jeez! They manufacture everything and anything! There weren’t people loitering around during the day doing nothing! The factories I visited with my team were busy… making orders and delivering! I was aghast! Turkey? Wow!
So I stayed over in Mersin on the Mediterranean for a while; I would visit my factory of interest (manufacturers of industrial Equipment) by the day and chill by the lounges at night! Multicultural, multinational country… bustling with activities and success!
They’re big on public housing; high rise public housing across the country in several cities. It was fascinating and I was absolutely envious of such a functioning country.
So by a rich seaside with fancy yatchs and wealthy folks, I asked my Turkish co-worker what the system of government was:
Regionalism
Semi autonomous regions
Autonomous municipal governments
Taxes at the local level
Each Region free to do business with the international community
Contributions to the centre!
As at 1923 when Turkey officially became a republic, Nigeria was already a country in 1914! In 2013, an economist coined the acronym “MINT” countries made up of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey and grouped them together as emerging economies! I also clapped and celebrated that…I got to Turkey and I knew for sure that it was a grave insult to that country to be grouped alongside Nigeria!
Did I tell you that Turkey had the second automatic lift in Europe after the one at the Eiffel Tower in Paris? Built in 1892, I think; and still working! I used it!
But wait a minute! Did I tell you how fertile the land is? I couldn’t help but think that when Jehovah promised to give a “land of milk and honey” to the Israelites, He must have been talking about Turkey; Brother Moses missed his destination by 500km! Turkey is Da Bomb!!!
I looked at Nigeria…the country of my birth by no choice of mine…and I wept! We are nothing in the scheme of things! And the 1999 constitution has ensured we shall be less than nothing still!
If I be a Premier, I would adopt the Turkish regional model as a minimum! Yes, the government in Ankara still has some much say at the regions but so much powers have been devolved to the regions that they hardly care what the centre does! Anatolia, Adana and other regions are wealthy and free despite the Ankara government! And that is the minimum I want for my people; place factories and manufacturing firms everywhere and take over the African supply market, to create wealth for the populace, to be rich, free and to be governed the way they so choose!
If only I be a Premier…but the 1999 constitution must be destroyed for peace to reign!
Baron Roy
