Turkish government anger with the Gulen movement, over its alleged involvement in the failed July 15 coup, has spread to Africa. Governments are being pressured into closing down Gulen schools.

Children are romping around the school grounds apparently without a care in the world. A few of them are standing together and reciting in unison “I for ice cream, J for job.” The atmosphere is bright and cheerful and the school has a clear vision of its future and that of its students. Such is the impression which the Nigeria Turkish International School in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, seeks to convey to visitors.

The school belongs to the Hizmet movement run by US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. It is one of a chain of 17 educational establishments operating in various parts of Nigeria since 1998. Their goal is not merely to pass down knowledge from teacher to student, Hizmet representative, Cemal Yigit told DW. “As educators, we can help build a more peaceful society in countries troubled by conflict,” he said.

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Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is looking good to some Nigerians who commented on social media after learning today that the country’s economy is officially in recession, Naij.com reported.

“I’m weeping for those who voted against GEJ,” Jacob Amidyere Adombire commented.

South Africa’s economy contracted 1.2 percent in the first quarter with second-quarter growth figures expected next week.

The South African currency could sink as low as 19 rand to the dollar this year, economists say, according to Buzz South Africa.

The two countries often see each other as competition. They’re more like book ends, said  Martyn Davies, managing director of emerging markets and Africa at the auditing and consulting firm Deloitte, in a Voice of America report.

Since Nigeria rebased its gross domestic product in 2013, the two countries have jockeyed for the economic top spot in Africa. South Africa recently regained the No. 1 position from Nigeria. But many global investors see them as part of the same Africa package.

“South Africa and Nigeria are the bookends, if you will, of the sub-Saharan economy. One’s misfiring, the other one’s in severe contraction,” Davies said.

Jonathan lost the 2015 election to President Muhammadu Buhari, in part because of perceptions of government corruption. Buhari campaigned by promising to end corruption, and in his 15 months in power, has launched aggressive action to investigate suspects in government fraud.

– See more at: http://afkinsider.com/132091/what-people-are-saying-about-nigeria-officially-in-recession-will-politics-send-south-africa-there-too/#sthash.46J7iB34.dpuf