Days after the outcry of Nigerians caught in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict went viral, the federal government of Nigeria has approved $8.5 million for their immediate evacuation.
About 5,000 Nigerians, mostly students, affected by the war have fled to neighboring Eastern European countries of Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, where they’re currently stranded.
The Nigerian government’s decision to embark on an evacuation mission was disclosed by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, after the virtual Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
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Dada said the evacuation approval came after a joint memo presented by both the ministries of Foreign Affairs, and Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development at the council meeting.
The House of Representatives last week, had implored Nigeria’s airline Air Peace, to help with the evacuation. Dada said that Air Peace and Max Air airlines have been contracted to provide three aircraft and run as many shifts as possible to facilitate the evacuation.
“The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs wrote a memo to the President, seeking for funding to enable us conduct this exercise. The memo was in the region of $8.5 million, which Mr. President has graciously approved. That provision entails an arrangement to evacuate not less than 5,000 Nigerians.
“Whatever happens you can be rest assured we are going to run any number of shifts that it will involve. Don’t forget it will also involve taking care of those Nigerians that may decide not to come back. It also includes some assistance for the feeding that may have been done by the missions under whatever arrangements.
“Even the missions themselves are also in dire situations. So it’s a whole gambit of activities that are involved,” Dada said, adding that the said fund has been released . That’s why the evacuation flights will begin today (Wednesday),” he said.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Wednesday, saying that only persons documented with the Nigerian Embassies will be eligible for evacuation. The Ministry urged those yet to register for the exercise to do so, as it is a mandatory requirement. It added that those without passports will be issued Emergency Travel Certificates (ETC) to enable them travel back home.
Nigerians in Russia have also been advised to leave the country as soon as possible due to increasing global sanctions targeting Russia’s economy.
Africans in Ukraine have complained of racial discrimination as they try to escape to neighboring countries. The African Union has expressed its concern over the development as it hinders the efforts of African countries to evacuate their citizens.
Some Ukrainian cities have been captured by Russia, trapping their inhabitants. Dada said he hopes the Russians will respect international law and ensure that no harm comes to Nigerians caught in the situation.
“We want to believe the Russian armed forces will obey the rules of engagement. They know the rules about civilians that are caught up in situations such as this. We want to assume they will respect international laws and ensure that no harm comes to them.
“Don’t forget that even our missions in Ukraine have had to be evacuated. So if for any reason any Nigerian is left behind, we are very very prayerful, we are very hopeful that no harm shall come to them once of course they are in some shelters or whatever place they are hiding.
“Don’t forget we had also summoned both the Russian and Ukrainian ambassadors to our ministry, and we did emphasize the need for their troops to ensure that they do not do anything that will harm the lives of innocent citizens.
“We have seen video clips making the rounds about the alleged treatment that had been meted out to black people who were on queues and in buses and all that.
“All these we have brought to the attention of the ambassadors and we have expressed our displeasure at this development and demanded that they do something about this,” he said.
However, some Nigerians caught in the war have said that they have no desire to return to Nigeria, despite the government’s evacuation plan.