The evacuation of Nigerians from Ukraine

FOLLOWING the intervention by the Federal Government, Nigerians caught in the middle of the Ukraine-Russia war began arriving the country from Wednesday last week. The process of evacuation, which should have started long before the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, started after outcry by Nigerians caught, as it were, in the cross-fire between the militaries of the two Eastern European countries. President Muhammadu Buhari approved the sum of $8.5 million for the immediate evacuation of the about 5,000 Nigerians trapped in the country, the majority of whom were later forced to take refuge in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada,  and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouk, addressed State House correspondents at the end of a virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), indicating that arrangements had been concluded for the domestic carriers, Air Peace and Max Air, to provide  three aircraft and run as many shifts as possible to facilitate the evacuation. Since the evacuation from the trouble zones started, the media have been awash with sundry human angle stories, from those addressing the issue of racism to those on the voluntarism on the part of Nigerians willing to serve in the Ukrainian military, even if their much touted chivalry was suspect. The evacuation of Nigerians from Ukraine was certainly one rare moment when Nigeria found the muscle, however belatedly, to live up to the demands of statehood. Thousands of stranded Nigerians have so far been successfully brought back home.

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We recognise the value of the evacuation exercise though it came late. India and other similarly circumstanced countries had demonstrated the kind of proactiveness associated with serious countries when they evacuated their nationals in Ukraine ever before units of the Russian military arrived the shores of Ukraine. Going forward, therefore, the Nigerian government should do everything within its power to evacuate Nigerians from any country with a real threat of armed conflict. This is part of the social contract entered into with the citizenry through the ballot box. If the Nigerian government treats Nigerians with dignity, other countries will be forced to take note.

It certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience contemplating the plight of Nigerians in Ukraine and their relations back home who waited with bated breath as their government dilly-dallied on the evacuation exercise. Many Nigerians were badly treated by the Ukrainian and Polish authorities who refused to let them pass through their country’s borders, a situation which would not have arisen if the Nigerian government had ferried them to safety as tension mounted between Ukraine and Russia. Nevertheless, bringing those compatriots back home is a good thing, a sweet relief. It shows that in spite of all the odds, the nation cares for its citizens after all.

We acknowledge the efforts made to see Nigerians transit through Hungary as they were being prevented from entering Poland. We  also note all the vicarious burdens they were made to bear just for being Nigerians. This should serve as a lesson to those in leadership positions. It would be good to see the Nigerian state living up to its billing at all times, including periods of distress when Nigerian citizens face possible extermination abroad.