The Nigeria minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has said that the available means of evacuating stranded Nigerians in Sudan is to be transported out of the North African country by road.
Following the bloody clashes between Sudan’s Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), several Nigerians in Sudan have intensified calls for the Nigerian government to rescue them.
Following the deaths of 270 people, the government had earlier promised Nigerians in the country that it would evacuate them, but it was unable to remove its citizens from the crisis-ridden country.
Onyeama, however, stated that the only way to save them is by road if the government will provide a safe corridor, claiming that those stranded can’t be evacuated by air because it is out of commission.
The minister said the evacuation situation is particularly challenging because the numbers of stranded Nigerians in Sudan are so many.
He disclosed that the government cannot evacuate all its diplomatic staff at the moment because they need to also coordinate the evacuation of all those students that are stranded.
Onyeama said: “We have been given the cost estimate and all the details. They gave us a figure of 5,500 who are ready for evacuation. Obviously, what you need in a situation like this is a place where everybody can congregate before you start moving them out. Because the airports, as you pointed out in your report, it is out of commission. The only viable way out is by road.
“But of course, it is not totally safe so you are going to require the government to provide some security and a safe corridor out. Our situation is particularly challenging because the numbers are so great. Some the countries like the US and European countries have started evacuating.
“But what they’ve been evacuating were actually their diplomatic staff. They haven’t been able to start evacuating their citizens there. We can’t evacuate all our diplomatic staff at the moment because they need to also coordinate the evacuation of all those students that we’re talking about.”
His comments come after the Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum advised students, who make up about 80% of the stranded people, to stay indoors.
Without a security clearance and guarantee from the Sudanese authorities, the FG claimed it was still risky to travel towards the Sudanese border.
The Embassy also assured the Nigerian students in a statement that their security and welfare were top priorities.
Ada Peter
