The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) on Thursday that about 20 Nigerian students were murdered in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus – a country facing isolation by the international community except Turkey.
The country is in a complex situation having declared independence from Cyprus in 1983 after the invasion by Turkish troops.
It is not recognised by the United Nation as a sovereign country and its foreign policy is largely towards Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots Living Abroad.
This makes transport by air, land and sea, into Northern Cyprus a difficult one.
Foreign media reports that an international air embargo is on the territory forcing travelers to stop at Turkey.
The neighboring countries to Northern Cyprus are Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.
It is not clear how Nigerians made their way into the country but based on Google Map, the Black Sea is in between Turkey and the nation of Ukraine.
Ukraine has been the center of the Russian war for the past six months and foreigners were forced to flee the nation.
Foreign students including Nigerians may likely be drawn to study in Northern Cyprus because the Times Higher Education lists about 3 universities in its overall ranking, advising people to explore studying there.
Meanwhile, the NiDCOM believes that the federal government needs to take a strong decision about places like Northern Cyprus, admitting that no diplomatic success has been recorded by Nigeria in the affected country.
Abike advised Nigerians against traveling to Northern Cyprus, adding that the territory is not recognized as a sovereign country by the United Nations.
She said, ““Think twice before going to Northern Cyprus. We can’t do much for Nigerians there. Our students are being killed daily.
“We do a lot of diplomatic engagement in diaspora matters. Northern Cyprus, because it’s a being a lot of problem with Northern Cyprus. We had youths come and tell us , please tell everybody to stop going to Northern Cyprus.
“We did that some times ago and somebody said, how can you tell people not to go, and I’m saying it again, if you are going to Northern Cyprus think twice about it.
“Over 20 students have been killed over the years and nothing has happened; so these students came with themselves and said they have to embark on an awareness, saying don’t go to Northern Cyprus.
“Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey, it is not a United Nation recognized country.
“So if you run , we can’t do much, but our students are being killed on a daily basis and nothing is happening.”
The country’s president is Ersin Tatar, he is said to be pushing for strong ties with the United Kingdom, having graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1982.
