March 04, (THEWILL) – The first batch of Nigerian evacuees from Ukraine have arrived in Abuja.
The passengers, numbering about 415 from Romania, landed at the private jet terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by 7:10 am (WAT) via a Max Air flight VM602 on Friday.
They are mostly students who fled Ukraine to Romania following the ongoing Russia’s military assault on the Eastern European country.
The House of Representatives Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the Chairman, House Committee of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Buba and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led the return of the students from Romania.
The students underwent profiling and COVID-19 test at the airport and were given refreshments and stipends to facilitate their transportation to their destinations.
Parents of some of the returned students were also on ground to receive their children and wards.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gabriel Aduda, told newsmen that the Federal Government was in talks with countries around Ukraine for final year students of medicine to continue with their studies in those countries since the curriculum was similar to that of Ukraine.
He said three more planes, two from Poland and one from Budapest were expected to bring more Nigerian students from those nations to Nigeria.
According to Gabriel Aduda, about one thousand (1000) Students out of the over five thousand, six hundred (5600), who crossed over to neighbouring countries are expected in Nigeria today.
He said those without their passports due to the emergency situation in Ukraine, would be issued certificates in the interim.
Aduda explained that over three hundred (300) Nigerian students were trapped in Sumi, Ukraine, but efforts were on to provide a safe corridor for them to move to Russia for eventual evacuation to Nigeria.
The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and officials from the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, received the evacuated students on arrival, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Some of the students who decried the delay by the Nigerian government in responding to their distress situation, however, commended the government for the eventual evacuation, which they said was hitch-free.
According to some of them including Charles Njoku, Kadija Mohammed and Miracle John, all medical students, the federal government provided good hotels and meals while in Romania, onboard the plane and on arrival in Abuja.
The evacuees, who narrated their terrible ordeal while trying to flee Ukraine, appreciated the Federal Government and its mission in Poland for all the arrangements.
Ms Eniola Badejo, a student from Ukraine, appreciated the government’s efforts, but appealed for more information and better coordination as the exercise continued.
“We thank the Federal Government of Nigeria because it has been really tiring, we went through a lot of stress, many of us travelled all the way and we have barely slept.
“We want them to give us more information because we were not given enough information. I am just happy to be going back to my family, I feel happy and grateful that I am going back to my parents”, Badejo said.
Mr Joseph Chikwado, another student, who left Ukraine, said what was most important to him was his successful crossing from Ukraine into Poland amidst all the challenges as he looked forward to returning to Nigeria.
“It was a very bad experience trying to get across the borders from Ukraine into Poland because of the weather. It was very bad and very cold, very long distance, no vehicle to convey us to the borders, we got there pretty late, we had to find a way to warm ourselves.
“We are happy we are safe now and getting back to our country, I feel relieved”, Chikwado said.
Ms Kella Wengwu, a Student of Dnipro Medical Institute, Ukraine, said she was lucky to be on the flight, explaining that the cancelled flight of March 3, gave her the opportunity to make the trip.
Wengu explained that she would have missed the flight as she did not register with the Nigerian Embassy in Poland upon arrival.
Her words: “Leaving Ukraine was very tough. I had left my city over two weeks to the capital because there were warnings on the invasion from Russia on social media.
“Coming here, I do not know how I got here, I was going to miss this flight because I did not go to the Embassy to write my name, I got here and was told the plane was filled up, I waited to see if any opportunity arises. It is mixed feelings for me, I am not quite happy I am leaving school, Ukraine is my home now because since I arrived it has been great. But at the same time, I am safe, I am going home to my loved ones, thank you for the opportunity.”
Nigeria’s Ambassador to Poland, Christian Ugwu, appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari for his swift intervention and release of funds to get all stranded Nigerians in Ukraine back home.
Ugwu said the embassy in Poland was on top of the situation and had successfully coordinated the first batch who were being evacuated already.
The ambassador, however, urged all Nigerians who had made it to Poland to ensure they got ready to be evacuated home rather than remain in Poland.
“We have been trying our best to convince the Nigerian students that there is no need to remain here in Poland to constitute nuisance and that the Federal Government is trying their possible best to make them comfortable.
“And that is why they have made provisions for them to be comfortable in hotels and provided aircraft to convey them back home. For those who refused to go, they will be remaining at their own risk.
“We advise parents to try as much as possible to counsel their wards and children that they should come back. When the crises in Ukraine subsides they can return. Remaining in Poland will be a difficult thing for them.
“It is kudos to Nigeria that the President has granted an urgent flight evacuation to these students. He has sent funds and things are moving accordingly. And the Nigerian students from Ukraine are happy that they are being treated well and being taken care of”, Ugwu said.
Amb. Bolaji Akinremi, leader of the evacuation exercise from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained that the March 3 flight was cancelled due to delay in getting all the intending evacuees together from their respective hotels.
Akinremi explained that as at when they were ready, the International law did not allow for the crew members to continue with the journey as they had overshot their duty time.
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