By Suleiman Umaru
President Muhammadu Bhari, who had on Friday, April 28, 2023, on the invitation of Nyesom Wike, the Rivers state governor, flagged off the Construction of a Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, CEER, in Ogoni Land, and laid the Foundation for the Ogoni Power project and a 100 bed Specialist Hospital in Wiyakara. In Khana Local Government Area, penultimate week, appear to have occupied his mind on with the crisis in Sudan and how to evacuate Nigerians stranded in the North African country to the neighbouring country of Egypt to be airlifted to Nigeria.
In the course of the Sudan crisis, tens of thousands of people from different countries across the world , including Nigerians , were aid to have already fled to the neighbouring countries of Egypt, south Sudan, Ethiopia and Chad , Central African Republic, Eritrea and Libya, for their own safety, as they could stand the heavy explosions and jet bombs in the streets of Khartoum, while awaiting for their home governments to evacuate them.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman, Nigerians In Diasporas Commission, Ni DCOM , had said that over 7, 000 nationals from the African Continent , including Nigerians , who were said to have found their way from Sudan to the Sudan neighbouring countries Land borders ,particular, those at the Egyptian borders are stranded
The 7,000 African countries nationals including Niderians, according to Dabiri-Erewa, the NiDCOM, Chairman, are not being allowed cross the border into Egypt, by the country’s Immigration officials since they had arrived the Aswan and other borders between the two North African countries, on the evening of Friday, April 28, 2023.
This is because the Egyptian Immigration officials at the variouLand borders with Sudan, who may be acting on instructions from higher Authorities are ‘’insisting on the fellow Africans producing their Visas to be allowed entry into Egypt , to transit back to their respective countries.
There is gain saying the fact that there is no way the 7,000, other African countries nationals , including Nigerians itching to transit to their countries via Egypt, could have approach the North African country’s embassy in Khartoum where the battles are being fought on the streets by Gens. Abdella Fatah Burhan, led Sudan aArmed Forces, SAF, and the heavily armed Rapid Support Forces, RSF, Commanded by Mohamed Hamdam Dagalo.
The situation at the borders between Egypt and Sudan, is so pathetic that the NiDCOM Chief, may have spoken the mind of the Nigerian President when she appealed to the Egyptian Authorities ‘’to kindly allow the already traumatized travelers from the different African countries, stranded at the various border Communities with the war torn Sudan ‘’to transit to their final destinations in various countries in the African Continent to avoid a Diplomatic war.
Enough of the report on the 7,000 natinals of other African countries nationals including Nigerians stranded at the Egyptian border. According to informed security sources, there are many still being trapped in Port Sudan in the midst of thee deadly war between the two Generals, that was said to have killed more than 500 people and left 4,200 other people critically wounded.
Back to the government efforts to evacuate its nationals officially from Sudan to Egypt. Give that other countries across the world are evacuating their citizens from Sudan, the Nigerian President was said to have ordered ‘’the deployment of both human and Financial Resource towards the evacuation of the Nigerians caught up in the Sudan crisis’’,
Geofrey Onyeama, the minister of Foreign Affairs, had told the Federal Council, FEC, at a meeting Chaired by Buhari on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, that the government had spent $1.2 million to purchase 40 buses from the war-torn Sudan ‘’to convey the over 400 Nigerian students and others from Khartoun, the Sudan Capital, to Egypt .
Ambassador Janet Olisa, Director, overseeing the office of the Permanent Secretary , in the ministry may have gladdened the heart of Nigerians when she revealed that ‘’the initial hitches encountered during the commencement of the evacuation exercise , including incidents of bus drivers stopping in the desert due to non-payment have been resolved’’, noting that the buses have continued their movement towards the Egyptian border .
She had confirmed that the first batch of buses have already departed Khartoun to Egypt via Aswan border. The evacuees and other nationals, were said to have been received by officials of the Nigerian Embassy, Ahmed Habib, Director General, National Emergency and Managent Agency, NEMA and the staff at the Egypt border.
. Until the Nigerian government took the decision to transport its stranded citizens residents in Sudan to Egypt, to facilitate their return to the country, the NidCOM, boss, Dabiri-Erewa, had expressed worry doing so by road because of the attack on the Turkish military aircraft that had landed at Wadi Seydna airport outside Khartoun, which had landed at the airport to evacuate its trapped citizens in the war ravaged country.
There have accusations and counter-accusations between the SAF and RSF, over which group had opened fire on the Turkish plane. The Sudanese army, Commander, Gen. Burhan, had accused its rival paramilitary RSF, of’’ opening fire on the Turkish military transport aircraft which would require repairs to fly again because of the extensive damage on the body .
The RSF, in turn , was said to have accused the Sudan , army, which had engaged them in in heavy explosions and gunfire in Kkartoum and Omdurman city, well as other major cities in the country of having fired at the Turkish plane as it Landed at the Wadi Seydna airport.
Given that the North American country of the United States, US, European Union, EU, African Union, AU, and the Arab countries are still moving speedingly into Sudan which Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, UN, had said is on the edge of abyss to evacuate their nationals may have encouraged the Nigerian President to expedite action on the evacuation of the trapped Nigerians in the North African country to Egypt.
This may have informed why he has given his words on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, after the FEC, meeting, to the NAF, to use its transport plane to airlift the Nigerians evacuated to Egypt. Going by the Presidential order, Air Marshall Isiaka Oladayo Amao, the Chief of Air Staff, was said to have deployed officers to commence the airlifting of the Nigerian evacuees in Egypt on Friday, April, 28, 2023.
The minister of Foreign Affairs may have given clarifications on the arrangement on ground when he disclosed that the officials of the Nigerian Mission in Egypt are working closely with the Egyptian Authorities in order ‘’to facilitate their return to the country
. Even Air Peace and other Airlines which have declared interest to support the government efforts in airlifting the stranded Nigerian evacuees were said to have received clearance ‘’to fly to Egypt’’.
The Nigerian minister of Foreign Affairs had said that another group of Nigerians , that are being assisted by the government of the United Arab Emirate , UAE, at the instance of the Nigerian government , are those who were said to have arrived Jeddah and currently being taken care of by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Nigeria Embassy.
Aware that hundreds of people have been killed and that there are widespread destructions in Khartoum and major cities in the country, particular, the ‘’setting fire to markets, public buildings, warehouses and banks , including ransacking of the camps for the displaced people and the University Hospital, as well as caught off electricity and internet facilities from the Khartoum, may have informed why the UN, EU, AU,and the US, including Saudi Arabia, were said to have welcomed the two rival Generals decision ‘’to end the war and engage in dialogue’’.
The UN, had reported that 15 million Sudanese nationals, whic is about one-third of Africa’s third most populous nation population need assistance, ‘’to stave off famine’’. The world body had reported that ever since the war erupted between the two rival Generals on Saturday, April 15, 2023, aid operations from the EU, UN and the developed economies have been stopped in the country, thus putting ‘’the lives of over 50,000 people, acutely malnourished children at real risk’’.
The situation in the country, according to Guterres, the UN, Secretary General now is that ‘’food supplies are finishing and that bakeries are running out of flour’’ as residents worry that ‘’the little they have will not last long’’, meaning that the war torn Sudan may face Famine or a crushing food crisis, that may attract the attention of the International Community soon.
There are fears making the rounds hat the number of malnourish Children in the war torn Sudan may be worse because of the serious risk of the over two weeks -old the violence escalating in Western Darfur as the UN, Secretary General, Guterres, had warned that the hostilities between the Sudanese army and the RSF‘’ would trigger monumental violence’’ in the region.
The fear became pronounced as Gen. Burhan, Commander of the SAF, who had earlier expressed openness ‘’ to the talks to end the war and embrace dialogue under the Peace initiative of the US government is singing a different song.He was said ‘’to have ruled out negotiations with the RSF’s Gen. Dagalo, accusing him of ‘’orchestrating a rebellion against the state’’ because of his inordinate ambition ‘’to rule Sudan, seize its resource,
and magnify his wealth’’. He was emphatic. Gen. Dagalo, of the RSF paramilitary, ‘’wants power for himself and not for the interest of the people’’, noting that ‘’it must be stopped’’.
