Turkish conglomerate in Nigeria mourns Turkey, Syria earthquake victims

A Turkish conglomerate in Nigeria has mourned the victims of the devastating earthquakes that hit border communities in Turkey and Syria on Monday.

Over 22,000 persons have been reported dead in the natural disaster, most of them in Turkey.

In a statement issued by its management on Thursday, First Surat Group said it is a challenging time, not just for Turkey but for the world.

The group owns Nizamiye Hospital, Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC), and Ufuk Dialogue in Nigeria.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan, according to Anadolu news agency, went to the affected southern region of his country to inspect areas struck by the earthquakes.

He also declared a three-month state of emergency across 10 of the affected areas.

“With a heavy heart, the management and the entire NTIC community wish to commiserate with the good people of Turkey and Syria over the devastation caused by the earthquake which occurred on February 6, 2023,” the statement reads.

“From the footage, it is obvious that thousands of lives have been lost and more than half of the city of Kahramanmaras has been completely destroyed. The harsh weather condition is progressively compounding the already bad condition of the survivors as rescue workers race against time to pull more people out of the rubbles. In fact, the level of destruction and the pain unleashed by the incident is inconceivable.

“It is indeed a challenging time, not just for Turkey but for the world as a whole – we feel the trauma and can understand the profound anguish of every surviving Turkish and Syrian citizen at this time.

Read the full statement below

February 9, 2023

CONDOLENCE MESSAGE

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With a heavy heart, the management and the entire NTIC community wish to commiserate with the good people of Turkey and Syria over the devastation caused by the earthquake which occurred on February 6, 2023.

From the footage, it is obvious that thousands of lives have been lost and more than half of the city of Kahramanmaras has been completely destroyed. The harsh weather condition is progressively compounding the already bad condition of the survivors as rescue workers race against time to pull more people out of the rubbles. In fact, the level of destruction and the pain unleashed by the incident is inconceivable.

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It is indeed a challenging time, not just for Turkey but for the world as a whole – we feel the trauma and can understand the profound anguish of every surviving Turkish and Syrian citizen at this time.

As humans, we are extremely weak and highly limited in knowledge. So, it is almost impossible for us to gauge the turns of nature. And, our efforts are never good enough to prevent such a natural occurrence. We, therefore, submit our affairs to the almighty God and take solace from the fact that He, being our creator, knows and does the best at all times.

Certainly, words cannot express our feelings. We simply pray to God to heal the world and give us the fortitude and resilience to overcome the pain and trauma left behind by this incident.

May God comfort the entire nations, rest the deceased in peace and prevent reoccurrence of such an incident in future.

MANAGEMENT