By Ebi Kesiena
It was an atmosphere of relief as Federal Government’s buses finally arrived at the meeting point of International University Of Africa, Khartoum, for the evacuation of the stranded Nigerian students in Sudan through Cairo.
According to reports, the student were instructed to converge at the campus of the University before 6am on Tuesday, a situation which eventually led to eight hours of waiting.
Over a thousand of the students were at the venue before 4am, yet there were no buses and no officials to explain the reason for the eight hours of delay.
However, Heritage Times HT gathered that as at the time of filing this report, a set of five 200-seater buses drove into the venue at exactly 7:30pm local time (5:30pm – Nigerian time) on Tuesday, with two Hilux trucks of security personnel and a small bus of Embassy officials.
A student leader confirmed the development, noting that the officials have started clearance and verification of students at the venue and some students are ready to board.
“We are discussing giving out 60 per cent of the first available seats to the female students and children while the male students take up the remaining 40 per cent.
“We are told that more buses are coming and the officials also brought some snacks and water too. On this note, we wish to sincerely thank them for this gesture and their efforts toward ensuring that we returned home safe”, the student stated.
Earlier, before the arrival of the buses, the Nigerian Government had warned the stranded Nigerians against embarking on treacherous borders on their own, in view of the dangers involved.
It also charged them to be calm and maintain constant communication with its officials, as evacuation process commences.
The encouragement was contained in a statement jointly signed by the Director Overseeing the office of Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Permanent Secretary Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo.
In the same vein, an evacuation committee member said, it was risky to transport huge number of students from one point to another in present day Sudan without the assistance and cooperation of both warring troops.
“There are basically two reasons for the delay of the buses to the venue. One, we are yet to get clearance from both authorities as it is risky to move the students without such clearance and then the mode of payment to the bus company took a while to clear.
“But I assure you, the evacuation of the students will begin in a short while as the payment has cleared and we have secured clearance from both warring generals.
“The NEMA DG is already in Cairo and some staffs are at the Egyptian border to help ease their entry as we speak. Also, more committee members and officials are airborne to Egypt all in an effort to ensure the safe return of all Nigerians in Sudan”, the committee member explained.
