In the middle of the Sahara desert, buses carrying Nigerian students fleeing war-torn Sudan were trapped on Thursday because the transporters insisted on getting their full payment.
Recall that the Nigerian government allocated N150 million for the hiring of 40 buses to transport the stranded students to Cairo, Egypt, according to NiDCOM Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who spoke on Monday.
Geoffery Onyeama, the Minister of foreign affairs, also disclosed to State House reporters on Wednesday that the government had spent $1.2 million to evacuate Nigerians who were stuck in Sudan.
The stranded students may have to wait a little longer in Cairo as the Egyptian government has denied them a landing permit and demanded diplomatic approval from the federal government, according to a statement made yesterday by Air Peace, which promised to fly those evacuated to Egypt back to their home countries.
However, several of the evacuated students were seen in a video that went viral on Thursday, protesting their treatment by the transportation company, which requested its drivers halt the trip midway since they were only paid around 30% of what they were promised.
Under the condition of anonymity, a protesting Nigerian voiced dissatisfaction with the way the bus drivers were paid.
He said, “Why are our children always going through bitter experiences? We don’t even know where we are. There is neither water nor food here.’’
At a briefing in Abuja on Thursday, Dabiri-Erewa responded to the footage by saying that the evacuation process was laborious and that difficulties were to be expected.
She asserted that the government was in contact with the students and that the appropriate authorities would solve the issue quickly.
“I’m seeing reports on Twitter, don’t believe everything on social media, but I’m seeing reports that they’re stranded somewhere because the bus driver is demanding some kind of full payment, but whatever is happening will be resolved by NEMA and the Nigerian mission in Sudan and Ethiopia.
There will be challenges along the way. It’s a very very complex and fluid situation. So whatever challenges are being faced now, I believe that relevant agencies will resolve them.
We’re in touch with some of the students, and whatever it is they talk about, we try to convey it to the relevant agencies, and we’ve resolved quite a few.
Whatever it is they’re going through now, two hours away from where they are, will be resolved, and let’s understand that it’s a very fluid situation. At the end of the day, we believe Nigeria will be one of the countries to rescue most of its citizens in Sudan,” she said.
Dabiri-Erewa also revealed that more Nigerians than just students who were authorised for the evacuation from Sudan to Egypt had chosen to be taken back to Nigeria instead.
She stated that 13 buses left for the Sudanese evacuation process, but she also hinted that there might be more.
“On Thursday, 13 buses carrying roughly 60 passengers departed for two universities in Sudan. We are keeping an eye on them, and by God’s grace, they are all fine. Officials from the mission are ready to welcome them.
Possibly, a second set of buses will also be made available. But so far, the transporters claim that they must receive payment before they will send another batch of buses.
The good news is that, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated, no lives have been lost, and our students are making their way to their destinations in Cairo, Egypt. As of now, the three missions have been successful in ensuring their safety.
However, there are a few minor difficulties. There are about 3500 students, but, some Nigerians are coming without submitting any form of documentation, claiming they want to return home. Our largest diaspora population resides in Sudan.
As a result, the mission is currently being inundated with requests to return home from people who never enrolled or demonstrated their readiness to participate.
There’s a great deal of stress. The non-interested individuals wanted to enter the buses through the windows, but they were commanded to maintain order and were divided into different groups.
Let’s simply hope that the cease-fire will result in the cessation of hostilities. With the AU and the two groups, there have been numerous discussions. In this whole circumstance, peace is the best thing,” she said.
Meanwhile, Air Peace was refused permission to land in order to rescue trapped Nigerians.
The Egyptian government has denied Air Peace airline landing permission, so trapped Nigerians being evacuated from war-torn Sudan may need to wait a bit longer at the airport.
Due to this denial, the airline was unable to deploy its aircraft to Egypt yesterday in order to start the airlift this morning.
Recall that Allen Onyema, the Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, offered free services to pick up the stranded Nigerian students from Egypt.
Yet as of Thursday, April 27, the Egyptian government maintained that before allowing Air Peace planes to arrive at its airport, the federal government must first give its diplomatic consent.
Allen Onyema, the chief executive officer of Air Peace, urged the federal government to take action to send the Nigerian students back home.