FG’s Rescue Effort In Sudan Suffers Major Hitches

The belated, last-ditch efforts by the Federal Government to evacuate stranded Nigerians who are largely students from war torn Sudan is not going well at all RovingNaija reports.

This follows the emergence online of an SOS video showing Nigerian nationals who are stranded in the “middle of nowhere” in Sudan, desperately calling out for help from anywhere. But help seems too far away from them.

In a tweet first shared by a tweeter user, Dr Ahmad Small on Thursday, the planned trans loading of stranded Nigerians to a safe haven in Egypt for onward airlifting to Nigeria has hit the rocks.

In the video shared on his verified Twitter handle, the distraught nationals of the most populous black nation in the world could be seen lamenting the decision of their bus drivers to abort the journey mid way in the middle of the Sahara desert.

According to the narrator, the drivers of the rescue buses refused to continue on the journey because of non-payment of agreed charges for the trip by Nigerian officials.
In a related development, the CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema has raised the alarm over the refusal of the Egyptian government to give landing permit for his aircrafts to land in Egypt.

He said the Egyptian government insists that clearance would only be granted to Air Peace if the request is made through diplomatic channels.

The CEO turned philanthropist said the airlines aircrafts are still idlyng at the Muritala Muhammad International airport awaiting clearance before taking off.

Mr. Onyema, it would be recalled, has volunteered to make his airlines available for the airlifting of stranded Nigerians to the country from Egypt because the direct airlifting from Sudan is impossible because of the war.

Meanwhile, chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), in an interview says the government of Sudan is frustrating the efforts of the FG to rescue Nigerians in the country.

She however confirmed that 13 buses carrying many Nigerians have left Khartoum, the state capital en-route to designated points in Egypt. She revealed that a lot of the stranded Nigerians are not documented and there is no data base to facilitate the seamless movement of bonafide Nigerians.