PUNCH
The Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Sudan, Safiu Olaniyan, has decried the glitches in the efforts to evacuate Nigerians, including students, trapped in Sudan amid the ongoing insurrection in the country.
The envoy, who lamented that Nigerian students have been left stranded on Sudan streets, however, appealed for calm, explaining that the Nigerian embassy in Sudan was not in charge of hiring buses for evacuating the students.
He added that the stranded students were not alone facing hardship, as embassy officials were also impacted by the hardship occasioned by the fight in Sudan.
Olaniyan stated this while reacting to complaints and allegations levelled against the embassy.
In a voice note posted on NiDCOM Situation Room on Sunday, the ambassador clarified that the Ministry of Disaster and Humanitarian Affairs, as well as the National Emergency Management Agency, were in charge of the buses.
Olaniyan said “Good afternoon my fellow Nigerians. My name is Ambassador Olaniyan. I am reaching out to you at this point on the issue of buses that are creating tension everywhere.
“I just want to let you know that the embassy is not in charge of the bus contracts. We have not received any money from anybody to hire buses. We are arranging the logistics.
“Those who are arranging the buses are the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in Nigeria, as well as NEMA. So, ours is to get the necessary instructions that this and this has been arranged and we just give instructions to the students to meet at so-and-so place and that is what we have been doing.”
The envoy lamented that the embassy officials were also without food, water, and light just like trapped Nigerians, assuring parents and students that the officials were fully on the ground in Khartoum, to ensure their evacuation.
The ambassador added, “The present arrangement that appears to have broken down was also coordinated in Nigeria. We are in contact with them to correct whatever is wrong with the contract because students cannot continue living on the streets. I want to assure you that we are as vulnerable as you are and will not leave until all of you have been moved to safety and to Nigeria.
“And so, I am urging you not to take any action like I am hearing that you are planning to attack the family of officers. The officers and I are all as vulnerable as you are. We have no food like you, we have no water like you; we have no light like you. It is not like we are living in a different world. This is war, and it is not tourism.
