The Turkish adventure of Seth Kikuni Masudi, 28, started thanks to his father, a former politician. A graduate of Ankara University’s Political Science Department, Masudi has been living in Turkey for 10 years and has formed an organization together with other Congolese students in different parts of the world. With the organization, he is preparing for elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo
 Masudi is continuing his post-graduate studies in Istanbul. It was his father's idea to send him to Turkey to study. Hürriyet photo, Levent ARSLAN |
At Galatasaray University, you can find Masudi with a glass of tea in his hand sitting at the canteen looking across the Bosphorus. Aside from the color of his skin, there seems nothing to distinguish him from the rest of students. Masudi, however, is a student with great aspirations.
He turned down our request to have the interview in French, saying, “Believe me, my Turkish is better than yours.” Indeed his Turkish is excellent. But what Masudi has to say is more fascinating than his fluency in Turkish.
Seth Kikuni Masudi’s father decided a decade ago to make his son the next president of the Democratic Republic of Congo. For that, he believed Turkey was the right place to come and study because the country bridges the East and West. “My father was a deputy labor minister. It was his idea to send me to Turkey. According to my father, Congo will be set free by the youth. Right now, I see how accurate he was to send me here. I am between the East and the West. I’ve had an excellent education. Thanks to Turkey, I feel that I am ready to take the road lying in front of me,” he said.
Masudi came to Ankara in 2000 to study political science. In addition to French and English, he learned Turkish in a short time. After earning a master’s degree in international relations at Galatasaray University, Masudi began a doctoral degree at the same department.
Two years from now, he will leave Turkey and gear up for the 2016 general elections in Congo. He started organizing a political grouping three years ago and Masudi said progressive politicians support them, as well as some ambassadors.
Congolese student diaspora
“Actually, we are a group of 110 [Congolese] studying outside Congo, in India, the Middle East, China and Cuba. We’ve connected through the Internet for the last two years. Once in a while, we secretly gather in Congo. For the moment our title is ‘Congolese Students Diaspora.’ The government is like a pawn of Belgium. We will be an alternative for our people,” he said.
Congo is being oppressed by the West, said Masudi. “We have to agree even if [the bosses] pay $1 million for $10 million of diamonds since we don’t have technology. We should put an end to colonialism.”
The only way out is to set a balance between the East and the West, said Masudi. “My brother in Sweden helps a lot with strategy. Our goal is to impose ourselves in the rural areas. We will have visits village by village, city by city and explain what a big lie they are living in.”
Masudi has plans to apply the Turkish education model. Whatever they will do, they will not call it a revolution.
“We are afraid to say ‘We will make a revolution.’ Because revolution for us means war, hunger, disease and ignorance. But we will change the entire country from top to bottom,” he said.
The population of the Congo is 65 million, and it is potentially one of the richest countries in Africa. “After we declared our independence from Belgium, a 32-year dictatorship period started. And then the 10-year war came in 1996-2006. There was devastation and a great deal of suffering. … Diseases turned into epidemics. And then for the first time in centuries, elections were held in Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said. Nearly 70 political parties participated in the race, but it was known all along who would be the winner,” Masudi said.
“We will continue until we become successful. The sitting president was 29 when he came to power. And I will be 34 [for the elections],” he said.
Masudi lost his father in 2005. “I owe it to my father [to run for president]. I will have to come to power,” he said.
Africa is divided already; Congo belongs to men from Adana
Masudi’s views of Turkish policy in Africa are critical. “When President Abdullah Gül visited Congo, he said ‘Don’t worry, we are not colonialists.’ But everyone should be embraced. For instance, it was awfully wrong for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to begin his speech by saying ‘Salaam Aleykum.’ We are Christians. A big part of Africa is Christian or followers of some other religions. What about them?” asked Masudi.
He emphasized the presence of the Fethullah Gülen movement in many places of Africa, saying: “The businessmen coming [to Africa] for private schools and investments are all from the Gülen movement. They have divided the entire continent of Africa; those from Adana are in Congo.”
He turned down our request to have the interview in French, saying, “Believe me, my Turkish is better than yours.” Indeed his Turkish is excellent. But what Masudi has to say is more fascinating than his fluency in Turkish.
Seth Kikuni Masudi’s father decided a decade ago to make his son the next president of the Democratic Republic of Congo. For that, he believed Turkey was the right place to come and study because the country bridges the East and West. “My father was a deputy labor minister. It was his idea to send me to Turkey. According to my father, Congo will be set free by the youth. Right now, I see how accurate he was to send me here. I am between the East and the West. I’ve had an excellent education. Thanks to Turkey, I feel that I am ready to take the road lying in front of me,” he said.
Masudi came to Ankara in 2000 to study political science. In addition to French and English, he learned Turkish in a short time. After earning a master’s degree in international relations at Galatasaray University, Masudi began a doctoral degree at the same department.
Two years from now, he will leave Turkey and gear up for the 2016 general elections in Congo. He started organizing a political grouping three years ago and Masudi said progressive politicians support them, as well as some ambassadors.
Congolese student diaspora
“Actually, we are a group of 110 [Congolese] studying outside Congo, in India, the Middle East, China and Cuba. We’ve connected through the Internet for the last two years. Once in a while, we secretly gather in Congo. For the moment our title is ‘Congolese Students Diaspora.’ The government is like a pawn of Belgium. We will be an alternative for our people,” he said.
Congo is being oppressed by the West, said Masudi. “We have to agree even if [the bosses] pay $1 million for $10 million of diamonds since we don’t have technology. We should put an end to colonialism.”
The only way out is to set a balance between the East and the West, said Masudi. “My brother in Sweden helps a lot with strategy. Our goal is to impose ourselves in the rural areas. We will have visits village by village, city by city and explain what a big lie they are living in.”
Masudi has plans to apply the Turkish education model. Whatever they will do, they will not call it a revolution.
“We are afraid to say ‘We will make a revolution.’ Because revolution for us means war, hunger, disease and ignorance. But we will change the entire country from top to bottom,” he said.
The population of the Congo is 65 million, and it is potentially one of the richest countries in Africa. “After we declared our independence from Belgium, a 32-year dictatorship period started. And then the 10-year war came in 1996-2006. There was devastation and a great deal of suffering. … Diseases turned into epidemics. And then for the first time in centuries, elections were held in Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said. Nearly 70 political parties participated in the race, but it was known all along who would be the winner,” Masudi said.
“We will continue until we become successful. The sitting president was 29 when he came to power. And I will be 34 [for the elections],” he said.
Masudi lost his father in 2005. “I owe it to my father [to run for president]. I will have to come to power,” he said.
Africa is divided already; Congo belongs to men from Adana
Masudi’s views of Turkish policy in Africa are critical. “When President Abdullah Gül visited Congo, he said ‘Don’t worry, we are not colonialists.’ But everyone should be embraced. For instance, it was awfully wrong for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to begin his speech by saying ‘Salaam Aleykum.’ We are Christians. A big part of Africa is Christian or followers of some other religions. What about them?” asked Masudi.
He emphasized the presence of the Fethullah Gülen movement in many places of Africa, saying: “The businessmen coming [to Africa] for private schools and investments are all from the Gülen movement. They have divided the entire continent of Africa; those from Adana are in Congo.”
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