Michael Olugbode in Abuja
As the ceasefire by warring factions in the Sudanese crisis draws close, some Nigerians, who were trapped at the border between Sudan and Egypt, have cried out that their lives may be in danger if the Nigerian government fails to take immediate action to evacuate them.
The stranded Nigerians, in a viral video, claimed that they were left in the middle of nowhere by bus drivers contracted by the Nigerian government to transport them from Sudan to Egypt, where they were promised to be flown back to Nigeria.
The Nigerian government had repeatedly shifted the date of arrival of the trapped Nigerians to the country, thereby creating apprehension among citizens on the safety of the 5,500 students that have shown interest in getting evacuated back home and several thousand other citizens still trapped in war-torn Sudan.
In the viral video, over 400 Nigerians said they were denied access to Egypt, which subsequently led the contracted drivers into attempt dropping them off about a kilometre from the designated entry point into Egypt from the Sudanese border. They said it was their protest that made the buses, whose drivers had attempted to drive off after dropping them, to be parked in sight.
A female voice of one of the Nigerians, speaking in Hausa, said, “We have left the border, see our buses here, we’re onboard. We have so far spent five days here now. See the mats that we have been sleeping on and under the buses while some of us sleep inside the buses. That is how we have been surviving in this border.
“There’s intense cold because the location is in Sahara. We have been suffering from hunger and thirst, because there’s nothing for us to eat or drink. Some of us in the other buses said they’re fine because they’re being provided with meals inside their vehicles.
“But in our vehicle, we’re suffering. There was even a crisis among us yesterday as those in the other vehicles wanted to go and leave us behind, maybe because they’re linked to some influential people, that’s why they’re been treated well and different from us.
“But we resisted that attempt because if they go and leave us behind, we don’t know our fate. We’re not fine, we want to go; if we won’t leave, then they should provide us with food. We’re not fine, we need help. They’re spreading rumours and lies that we’re now in Egypt and accommodated in the hotel. This is not true, it is a lie.”
The situation of those stranded might have been confirmed by the Nigerian government, as Chairman, Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sudan Evacuation, and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian, Disaster Management and Social Development, Dr. Sani Gwarzo, in an update, yesterday, said Egyptian authorities had refused to permit 420 Nigerians to cross to Cairo for airlift.
Gwarzo, who disclosed that the Nigerian government would deploy diplomatic channels to resolve the crisis, said while the Sudanese government charged $8 per person to cross their border, Egypt requested $25. He said the Nigerian government had made full payment to bus contractors for seamless transportation, and that the federal government would use Port Sudan as alternative route to move Nigerians out of troubled areas in Sudan.
