Over two hundred and fifty Nigerians, mostly students at the undergraduate and post-graduates levels in various universities in Malaysia,are presently stranded in Kuala Lumpur, and other parts of the Southeast Asian country.
This followed the COVID-19 pandemic which led to closure of global air space to curtail the spread of the virus.
In an exclusive interview with Blueprint NG on Wednesday, June 24th, a P.HD student at University Sultan Zainal Abidin (UNISZA), Kuala Tarrenganmu, Malaysia, Habib Awais, said the Nigerian Embassy had earlier promised to evacuate them May 22, 2020, but nothing has been done.
He said: “The initial date for our evacuation was May 22. Few days before the date, the embassy announced another date- June 28. Again, few days to the new date, the embassy shifted ground.
“We have submitted our details to Nigerian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. There are over 250 stranded Nigerian and over 200 are students willing and ready to return home. Some cannot even afford the one thousand dollars as flight ticket.
“We are worried about the inconsistency of Nigerian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and Federal Government. It seems to us that preferential treatment is being given to Nigerians in other continent.”
In response to the cries of stranded Nigerians, the Nigerian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, in a letter dated 24th June, 2020, indicated its willingness to evacuate them home.
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The letter which is titled, ‘Evacuation flight from Kuala Lumpur to Abuja and Lagos’, reads: “The High Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia wishes to refer to its public notice dated 21st May , 2020 on the above subject matter, and to inform that arrangements have been concluded with AIR PEACE AIRLINE to depart on Saturday, 11th July 2020, from Kuala Lumpur to Abuja and Lagos respectively (flight time to be announced later.)
AIR PEACE AIR LINES will be using Boeing 777-300, for a thirteen (13) hours direct flight, and with capacity to carry Three hundred and Nineteen (319) passengers, fifty (50)
Business class, as well as, Two hundred and Sixty –nine (269) Economy class.”
It further said intending evacuees were expected to forward detail of payments to the high commission for confirmation, while the deadline for payment was slated for Friday, 3 July, 2020.
This reassurance by the federal government, doesn’t prove anything to the citizens who have been stranded abroad, for over two months.
“We are still worried that the evacuation can be cancelled any time. This is not the first time, the embassy is giving us a date for departure to Nigeria. There is a prevailing fear of shoddy arrangement on the part of relevant stakeholders.
“The evacuees who are mostly students on self-sponsorship raised concerns about the exorbitant cost of the flight tickets. We learnt the airline is coming to Malaysia with Malaysian returnees from Nigeria. We want the federal government to intervene on our behalf.
“We are also told that we have to pay for COVID -19 which is about N 40,000. It is huge for us as students who are on self-sponsorship. We cannot afford it,” they pleaded.
