By Alaba Abdulrazak
Just as the fightings between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo continue, the hope of Nigerians living in Sudan is still uncertain as Ethiopia, we gathered is turning Nigerians back at its border owing to lack of Visa.
TheDispatch gathered that since the violence has paralyzed Sudan’s airports, destroying civilian planes and damaging runways; Ethiopia is one of the overland routes to flee the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
However, TheDispatch gathered that some Nigerians who managed to get to Ethiopian border were denied entry by the Ethiopian immigration officials who insisted that the Nigerians must produce visas before they can enter.
Those who managed to speak with our correspondent on phone descried the action of Ethiopian immigration officials who refused only Nigerians entry, while nationals of other countries including Sudanese nationals were allowed in.
According to them, some of them who have applied for visas in the border are yet to be granted as at the time of filing this report.
“We are using this medium to beg the Nigerian government to please as a matter of urgency find a way of evacuating us from Sudan.”
More Than 5000 Nigerians Are Currently Stranded In Sudan
The hope of more than 5000 Nigerians living in Sudan as at the time of filing in this report still hangs in the balance.
While Ethiopian immigration officials are turning Nigerians back at the border, many of them we gathered are either sick or injured.
Those who spoke to TheDispatch said that they took a major risk to get to the border of Ethiopia to escape the escalating violent conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
Nigerian Government Gives Reason Why It Has Not Evacuated Nigerians In Sudan
While the conflict in Sudan has claimed more than 400 lives; the Federal Government of Nigeria has said it is still waiting for the Sudanese Government to give assurance before it can evacuate Nigerian Students from Sudan.
Speaking on what the Nigerian Government is doing in a Channels Television programme, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the responsibility of the Nigerian Government is to ensure that it has the full backing of the Government of Sudan before evacuation to avoid risking the lives of Nigerians.
He said the Federal Government doesn’t want to evacuate Nigerian citizens in an unsafe situation.
Onyeama said the Government was trying to get the authorization of the Government so that it can evacuate Nigerians from the region in a safe corridor.
The Minister said the situation with the Government is challenging because the number of Nigerians in Sudan is over 5,000.
“I don’t think we are sluggish; the countries evacuated yesterday and a day before, no government had evacuated before then. The reason is that it is not as if there was a military war against another country.
“The President and the Vice President of a country started shouting at each other. Of Course, it started getting worse and that is why countries started looking at evacuating their people. The advantage these people have, the US, Italy, and France, have is that they don’t have 5,000 citizens in Sudan like Nigeria.
“Tomorrow, we could start hiring cars and buses to start moving our people out, but this would put their lives at risk. And no responsible government will do that.
“What we need at the moment, which one or two countries have done, is for the Sudanese Government to assure us that we can drive and convey our citizens to the borders of our choice. The Egyptian border or to port Sudan; the Ethiopian border is not an option because I understand the road is unsafe. So once we go there, we are ready to go.
We are in touch with the embassy and they are in touch with a large number of Nigerian students, but we don’t want to take that risk; because tomorrow, if we give the green light and there is an ambush, we will be responsible for that. The responsible thing to do is to ensure we have the full backing of the Government of Sudan”, he stated.
Do Nigerians Require Visa To Enter Ethiopia?
Under a normal situation, Nigerian citizens must have a valid visa in order to enter Ethiopia. Except for citizens of Kenya and Djibouti, all other international visitors must first obtain a visa in order to enter Ethiopia, including Nigerian citizens.
Though, applying for an Ethiopian visa as a Nigerian citizen is not difficult, however what is not clear is the reason why Ethiopian immigration officials at the border are refusing Nigerians fleeing from Sudan entry and even denying them visas.
United States, Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Others Have Evacuated Their Citizens
United States, Britain, France, Greece, Italy, Russia and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that have commenced evacuating their citizens from Sudan.
Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted that the U.K. armed forces evacuated British diplomatic staff and their families “amid a significant escalation in violence and threats to embassy staff.”
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said more than 1,200 military personnel were involved.
France, Greece, and other European nations also rushed people out. The Netherlands sent two Hercules C-130 planes and an Airbus A330 to Jordan to rescue 152 Dutch citizens who made their way from Sudan to an undisclosed evacuation point, but “not without risks,” said Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.
Italy sent military jets to Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden to extract 140 Italian nationals from Sudan, many of whom took refuge in the embassy, said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Other countries such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and others have also evacuated their citizens from Sudan.
Overland Routes To Flee The Fighting In Sudan Are As Follows:
1. Egypt
Witnesses say buses carrying hundreds of people have been lining up at the remote Arqin border crossing
2. Port Sudan
There have been long convoys on the road from Khartoum to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, from where people have left Sudan by air and sea
3. Ethiopia
Hundreds of people have arrived in the Ethiopian town of Metema Yohannes near the Sudan border, the local mayor said on Monday
4. South Sudan
Officials in Renk County said on Monday they had received about 10,000 people since the crisis started
5. Chad
The UN says 10,000-20,000 people have fled fighting in Darfur region to seek refuge in neighbouring Chad in recent weeks