Nigerians stranded in the desert as fuel finish in buses from Sudan
Most Nigerians who are on their way from Sudan have been left stranded on the journey from Khartoum to Cairo after the drivers of the buses paid to evacuate them complained that their fuel finished and that the Nigerian Federal Government has not remunerated them for the service.
As of the time of filing this report, The Punch correspondent gathered that no Embassy official was on the ground to explain why Nigerians, especially the students are stranded.
The evacuation of 2,400 students and other Nigerians trapped by the ongoing conflict in Sudan took off on a slow start on Wednesday as only 15 out of the 40 buses required for the exercise were provided.
Furthermore, the Chairman of the Nigerian Community (Elders Forum) in Sudan, Dr Hashim Na’Allah, stated “People are hungry and there is no concrete information from either the Embassy or the Committee in charge of the buses
“People are sitting outside under high temperatures. The temperature is very high that people are thirsty. Nowhere to find water to drink or buy food to eat.
“In the next two to three days, if nothing is done to address this situation, Nigerian students might start dying.”
A female student who spoke on anonymity noted, “We are 150 females mostly from Jigawa and we are stranded. The Embassy said they are not sending buses to us.
“The bus owners have been complaining that they do not have fuel but we are not even seeing the buses. They are not ready to release any of the buses because people are running away from the country.
Today is the last day of the ceasefire. We woke up to gunshots this morning. If we do not leave here today, I do not know what becomes of us.”
Also, another video showed a student crying that the soldiers’ barracks are very close to them, and there have been gunshots since last night.
The President of the Jigawa State Students Association in Sudan, Umar Abubakar said he has been out since 5 am waiting for a bus to evacuate them.
Abubakar said, “Even those that left for Egypt yesterday are now stranded on their way because the drivers said they have not been paid and that they are not moving an inch until they are paid, or else they will drop the students there and return.”
In confirming, a student of Noble College in Sudan, Idris Wakama, said that the drivers dropped the students in the middle of the desert.
” We do not know what is happening. They collected $100 from some of our students on the buses. The Federal Government needs to address the situation quickly.” He added.
Read Here: Sudan Conflict: Trapped Nigerian students yet to take off to Cairo
