Victor EzejaThe National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said there are plans to evacuate over 2,000 stranded Nigerians in Sudan on Tuesday morning via Cairo, Egypt.
Director, Special Duties, Nema, Onimode Bandele, disclosed this while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Monday.
Bandele said the evacuation process would be conducted by the Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum and the NEMA director general.
He said: “The truth is nobody has been evacuated yet. I just spoke to the ambassador Olaniyan in Khartoum a few minutes ago.
“There are plans to get buses to start moving tomorrow morning. And as I speak to you, the Director General, National Emergency Management Agency, Mustapha Habib, is already in Cairo because that is the window that we are looking at.”
On the number of Nigerians to be removed from the crisis-hit North African country, Bandele said: “Our projection was that most students and others who want to evacuate are about 5,000. But with my discussion with the ambassador this morning, the plan is for about 2,650-2,800 to move immediately, including families of embassy staff.”
“As these plans continue, we’ll be able to update you with the actual figure and the exact time of departure from Khartoum to Cairo,” he said.
The clash which is between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary group, Rapid Support Force, has claimed over 400 lives with about 3,500 injured.
The conflict resulted from a misunderstanding between Sudan’s Army Chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s forces, and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Dagalo is al-Burhan’s former deputy. There were plans to integrity the RSF into the regular army but dispute arose leading to heavy shooting and bombing. Many have fled the country, especially the capital, Khartoum.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama confirmed plans by the federal government to begin evacuation of Nigerians from the troubled North African country.
Speaking during his appearance on Channels Television Sunday Politics show, Onyeama said the federal government is seeking authorisation of the movement from Sudanese authorities.
Onyeama disclosed that about 5,500 Nigerians were ready for evacuation from Sudan, adding that 80 per cent of them were students.
“We are hoping that in the next day or two, we can start. We would have gotten approval from the Sudanese government to start moving our people out,” the Minister said.
“I was in touch with our ambassador in Egypt, because Egypt is a country that is particularly close to Sudan, to also help to facilitate for this corridor and also a reception when they arrive there, their upkeep and so forth,” he added.
The minister countered claims that the federal government was not showing enough concern about the plight of Nigerians in the troubled country, maintaining that the security of the lives of Nigerians is the government’s utmost priority.
“Nobody anticipated the Sudan crisis will escalate,” he said.
“I have been in touch round the clock with our embassy there and they have given us the cost estimate, they have given us all the details and they have given us all the total figure of 5,500 ready for evacuation.
“All the agencies of government are working together, including NEMA, and they are being contacted to find out what their needs are before evacuation and how to get it through to them,” he added.
Students seek Ethiopia exit route option
Some reports indicate that stranded Nigerian students in Sudan have made plans to exit the country through Ethiopia.
The National Association of Nigerian Students, Sudan chapter, made this known in a statement by its media committee on Sunday.
The association asked its members to converge at three locations in Gadarif, the capital of the state of Al Qadarif in Sudan, before evacuation to neighbouring Ethiopia.
“This is to inform all Nigerian students to gather at any of these three locations to proceed with the evacuation to Gadarif, then to Ethiopia. 1. Ifriqiyyah University 2. NANSS Office or 3. El-Razi University.
“Those who don’t have the funds should contact either their school or state president. Come along with your passport, original/photocopy or school ID card.
“Those that don’t have their passport at hand should also contact their state or school president,” the statement read in part.
However, a statement from the Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum the capital of Sudan, asked Nigerian students in the country to remain indoors while it continued arrangements for their safe evacuation.
A statement from the embassy, signed by H. Y. Garko for the Charge D’ Affairs on Sunday, advised the students to disregard the information circulated by the NANS in Sudan, calling on students to converge at the African International University, NANS office and El-Razi University, or to bring $100 or $200 for evacuation.
Trapped Students lament
In a video on social media, the stranded Nigerians were seen lamenting about their condition and appealing to the Nigerian government to expedite efforts to evacuate them as soon as possible.
One of the students, Fauziyya Idris Safiyo, who fled Khartoum to the border town of Gallabat on the Sudan-Ethiopian shore, said the situation was getting out of control.
“Two days ago, my sick sister and I fled Khartoum to Gadarif. Along the way, we could see the Sudanese also fleeing. We met Sudanese immigration to get exit visa to Ethiopian territory but we were rejected because of lack of entry visa.
“We even showed them a letter from the Nigerian Embassy in Sudan but they insisted on the visa. “Today is our third day stranded on the shores of the Ethiopian border.
“So, we applied for the visa and were charged $80 each but no one can tell when it will be ready as it is public holidays,” she said.
She also lamented that many Nigerians, mostly women, are still stranded in Khartoum.
“They’re starving, with no food, water and electricity. Explosions and heavy artillery fire were everywhere. “Some are taking refuge in the mosques. Movement in Khartoum has been halted and here we are at the border.
“We learnt that Ethiopian immigration is denying us visas. According to them, they’re issuing visas to only Sudanese, that they don’t recognize Nigerian passports,” she said.
Another young man who didn’t mention his name in a circulating online, further corroborated that Nigerians were being denied entry into Ethiopia without visa.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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