Covid-19: Evacuating Nigerians abroad

THE report that there are 300 Nigerians awaiting evacuation from the Guangzhou province of China is one which should make the blood of every patriotic Nigerian boil. According to the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), the Nigerians consisting of business women and men are currently starving, having run out of funds to pay for their hotel accommodation and feeding. These are just a tiny fraction of the over 2,000 Nigerians in various parts of the world seeking to return home as the social and economic corollaries of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic bite harder.

Since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the countries of the world have been making strenuous efforts not only to protect their citizens at home but also to evacuate those abroad. Truth be told, it is in difficult times like this that citizens come to depend solely on the weight that their countries can pull in ensuring their safety anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, the Nigerians stranded abroad due to the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic may have a long wait ahead of them as the country drags its feet in bringing them home, leaving them in the lurch.

Before now, the French, American, Canadian and British governments, among others, had made arrangements to evacuate their citizens stranded abroad. But this has predictably not been the case with Nigeria, even though the media has been inundated with the distress calls of Nigerians, especially those in China, asking to be brought home. Nigerians, like other Africans, have been subjected to subhuman treatments by the Chinese authorities and the hullabaloo which this generated in the media is yet to abate. Africans, regardless of the legitimacy of their stay in China, have suffered untold harassment from law enforcement agents and private citizens in the country. Many had used up all the funds they had on them as their stay became extended due to the lockdown implemented in most countries of the world, leading to a virtual shutdown of the air space.

A Nigerian in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, Ayodeji Adetunji, was reported to have lamented: “The mood here is fast turning into frustration, helplessness and despondency because of our failure to receive diplomatic support to be evacuated. The lockdown has led to the closure of all commercial means (rail, road and air) to leave the city. The Chinese authorities through communications to the foreign community in the city have asked us to contact our embassies if we choose to leave.”

Happily, the Nigerian government has signalled its readiness to evacuate the fellow compatriots. It has however attached certain conditions to the move which we find disturbing and unpatriotic. For instance, according to a release from the High Commission of Nigeria, New Delhi, India, signed by one Horsfall Jacob Atannu and dated April 20: “The Federal Government of Nigeria is in the process of finalising adequate arrangement with local airlines in Nigeria for the evacuation of stranded Nigerians from different countries. The evacuation will be done in batches and the different phases with their dates will be communicated in due course. The list of those interested will be drawn giving priority to immigration status, including short stay visit with evidence of a return ticket and aged persons. Individuals will be responsible for the full payment of their one-way tickets to Nigeria. Every traveller is expected to undergo 14-day mandatory quarantine on arrival in Nigeria at a location to be provided by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control either in Abuja or Lagos. Every traveller is expected to pay for their quarantine, isolation or accommodation before their arrival in Nigeria, and every traveller on the flight is expected to be tested for COVID-19 on arrival in Nigeria.”

While we have no problem with the requirement for a 14-day quarantine of the returnees upon arrival, we are alarmed by the fact that they have to pay for practically everything except the test. Over time, the government has spoken of its desire for Nigerians to be patriotic citizens, but it has often failed to fulfill its own part of the bargain. At the risk of being repetitive, we affirm that it is how the country stands up for its citizens in times of need such as this that challenges them to reciprocate the gesture. Many of the citizens seeking to return home are out there in the world on very legitimate businesses that have added value to the country’s economy. On the other hand, some travelled abroad to seek medical succour which was not available in the country due to the lack of requisite equipment and facilities which are sine qua non in sane societies. If the government failed in making life comfortable to the extent that citizens had to make private arrangements, must it also abandon them at crucial times when no one else can offer them a reprieve?

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as of April 23, the country’s Private Sector Coalition Against Covid-19 (CACOVID) had raised about N27.160bn to help fight the pandemic. The government must put corruption in abeyance and put the money to good use. It must bring the Nigerians stranded abroad home without delay. This is the only way to demonstrate to the citizenry at this moment that Nigeria has a responsible government in place.

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