“On many occasions, I have had cause to
go to class on an empty stomach. Getting money for transportation from my
hostel to school has become very problematic. More worrisome is the fact that I
will soon be homeless as my hostel fees will expire at the end of August. We
are grateful to the Federal Government for the scholarship opportunity, but
there is no sense in leaving us here to starve to death in a foreign land.”..........
Nigeria has BEA for undergraduate and
post-graduate studies with Russia, Cuba, Morocco, Algeria, Romania, Ukraine,
Turkey, Egypt, Japan, Serbia, Macedonia, China, and Mexico. Under the
arrangement, the Federal Government pays for the upkeep of the students, while
the countries where the scholarship award is tenable provides the tuition.
over 322 promising Nigerian students on the BEA
initiative in the former Soviet Union have not been paid a dime by the
government. Each of the beneficiaries’ monthly stipends for feeding is $500,
while their annual allowance for medicals and clothing is $450 each.
But from January till date, none of these
allowances have been paid by the Nigerian government, despite repeated appeals
and other forms of representations to the Nigerian Embassy in Moscow and the
Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja.
Following the non-remittance of funds, Ojuri and
her Nigerian colleagues, of late, have no choice but to borrow money as a
survival strategy from their fellow African students enjoying similar BEA.
The 20-year-old asks rhetorically, “We are not private
students. We came to Russia on the bill of the Federal Government. Why haven’t
the authorities paid our stipends and other allowances for eight months now?
For how long shall we continue to borrow money?”
The youngster, who says she has a huge debt on her
neck at present, notes that their colleagues from other countries are no longer
comfortable lending them money.
She adds, “On many occasions, I have had cause to
go to class on an empty stomach. Getting money for transportation from my
hostel to school has become very problematic. More worrisome is the fact that I
will soon be homeless as my hostel fees will expire at the end of August. We
are grateful to the Federal Government for the scholarship opportunity, but
there is no sense in leaving us here to starve to death in a foreign land.”
Findings by our correspondent reveal that the
inability to get work permit by foreign students in Russia is further
compounding their problems. So, how do they survive the starvation and hard
times in the Eurasian country?
Another Nigerian, Akinola Akindamola, pursuing his
Master’s degree at the Volgograd State Technical University, explains that they
engage in all kinds of oddities to survive. According to him, the pressure is
even more on his female colleagues.
Akindamola, a first class Mechanical Engineering
graduate, says, “It is unfortunate that girls with exceptional academic
brilliance are now forced to indulge in all manner of indecent lifestyles.
These girls now go to clubs and dance semi nude for a fee that could be as low
as $20. For the boys, employers use us for odd jobs, such as clearing of snow
and as labourers on construction sites. Even as we do that, there is this
perpetual fear that the police will arrest us.”
A final year Medicine and Surgery student of the
Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, David Ikenna, also admits
that the failure of the Federal Government to remit their allowances exposes
them to risks in the country.
Ikenna states, “We have been finding a way to
survive by circumventing the laws, but it is at great risk to our personal
safety and academic pursuits in Russia. Our situation is frustrating. My
brother, we are suffering. How I wish I could bring you here to see how
miserable our conditions are. The Nigerian government has failed us miserably.
“Even with the illegal jobs we do, we still find
it hard to make ends meet. It is shameful that we have got no alternatives but
to beg for food and money from Ghanaians, Namibians, Ugandans and Sierra Leoneans
who are on the same bilateral educational scholarships like us.”
Besides welfare, some of the students who are to
return to Nigeria for their mandatory internship programmes are also stuck in
Russia, due to lack of funds.
Julfa Timkuk, a student of International Law at
the Southern Western University, Rostov, Russia, wonders if they were indeed on
a scholarship. The 25-year-old, who hails from the Langtang North Local
Government Area of Plateau State, says he now lives on cheap white bread.
“My colleagues and I are tired of clearing snow,
working at warehouses or helping to lift heavy equipment at night. Our
suffering is no longer bearable. Please do us a favour and beg them to free us
from this slavery in a foreign land,” he appeals.
But appraising the situation, a Professor of
Microbiology, University of Ilorin, Poju Akinyanju, chides the Federal
Government for sending the students overseas on scholarship without making
proper funding arrangement for them. The experience, he says, is not only
traumatising to the scholars but also a dent on Nigeria’s image.
He states, “It is unfortunate that they do not
care about these youngsters. Are you telling me that the authorities cannot pay
for the students’ stipends? There must have been some budgetary provisions for
them. How can these traumatised students be loyal and patriotic to their
fatherland when they eventually return home?”
Also, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, Prof.
Alani Ramoni, describes the condition of the students as unfortunate. According
to him, even under the military regime he enjoyed his scholarship offer without
any hindrance.
When contacted, the Director, Press and Public
Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Olu Lipede, confirmed that there
were challenges remitting the money to the students. He nonetheless blamed
their travails on the “budgeting process” and problems associated with “banking
transfers.”
Prodded to be specific on when the students will
be paid, Lipede states, “That I cannot say because I am not the Central Bank of
Nigeria. There are processes between the Federal Ministry of Education and the
CBN as well as between the CBN and Nigeria’s foreign missions.”
Lipede adds, “We do care about their welfare. Last
year (2013), we went to visit them in Russia and we inspected where they sleep
and we made known to the Russian Government those things we were not satisfied
with. These students have been told that their money will be remitted to them.
If there is any delay it should not be blamed on the ministry.”
But a source familiar with the administration of
the scholarship scheme says the matter is beyond the Federal Ministry of
Education.
According to the source, the students have yet to
get their allowance because there has not been a release for their payments.
The source adds, “It is beyond us in the Ministry
of Education. Their money is in capital allocation. How do we go ahead and
circumvent the rules? Their stipends should be extricated from the regular
budget. Unless this is done, they would continue to experience this problem
every year.”
Copyright PUNCH.
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