Nigerian students who are being evacuated from Sudan to neighbouring countries have shared their ordeal in the face of evacuation from the war-torn country.
Many of these students revealed what they faced in the process of trying to evacuate them to other countries sharing borders with Sudan.
Recall that many Nigerian students are caught up in the crises that have engulfed the North- African country of Sudan.
Reports say that about 90% of Nigerians based in Sudan are students who have travelled to study in the country,
Below are some of the revelations from some of the students in the war-torn country.
A student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “It has not been easy here. Most of the drivers that brought us here have left. We sleep inside the bus sometimes which does not have good windows and the cold is extreme. We have not taken our bath for some days because we cannot afford to pay for it every day. We hope to go home soonest.”
Another student, who identified herself as Amina, lamented that,“Ever since we came from Khartoum to this place, we have been suffering. The drivers picked us all from Khartoum without being paid. They later stopped somewhere in the desert and collected our passports as collateral.
“Since we got here, no water, money or food. We sleep under the bus or in the Sahara. My voice is down right now. Some of us here are sick. It is not easy here. Our money is gone because food is actually expensive here. We pay money for eventually everything that we want to do here. For instance, if we want to urinate, we pay 1,000 Sudanese currency. These people at the border harass the females here. It is very terrible.”
Another student, Abdulsalam Maikano, said “Five days at the border, no food and no water. We even saw in the news that they are giving us food. Many people are sick. On my bus, there is a baby that cries every night because of the cold.”
Meanwhile, those who moved from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, to go to Port Sudan also recounted their ordeal.
One of the buses conveying stranded Nigerians from Khartoum, Sudan, to Port Sudan caught fire in the early hours of Monday.
It was also gathered that 26 buses conveying the stranded Nigerians left Al Razi around 12am on Monday for Port Sudan where they would move into Saudi Arabia.
The Chairman, Nigerians Elders’ Forum in Sudan, Hashim Na’Allah, said one of the buses broke down due to excessive heat.
He said 50 students were being conveyed in the bus, but no one was injured or died during the incident.
Na’Allah said, “One of the buses conveying some 50 Nigerian students from Sudan with a tag number (Katsina 1) heading to Port Sudan as part of the second batch of FGN evacuation got damaged due to excessive heat from one of the vehicle’s tyres.
“The incident happened around 2:30am Sudan time with 50 students on the bus.
“The driver stopped the bus near an RSF checkpoint, just before the tire exploded causing a fire to start.All the passengers escaped unhurt.
“Forty out of the 50 passengers were later distributed to the other buses evacuating the students, while the remaining passengers spent the night where the incident happened alongside the driver at the RSF checkpoint.
“The students said the RSF really did their best to help the passengers and offered them cups of tea in the morning before they left.”