Travel News

(Bloomberg) -- British Airways is responding to passenger complaints on Twitter by saying it’s “working hard” to resolve a technical issue that has disrupted operations and communications systems.

• Carrier tweets that it can’t address a number of customer issues because of the problem
• BA says it will provide further updates as quickly as possible
• Passengers say they can’t book flights, access website or app, board planes

By Abdullateef Salau

The federal government says it has made necessary arrangements to evacuate stranded Nigerians in Ukraine to Poland.

The Embassy of Nigeria in Warsaw, Poland, in a public notice, said officials and volunteers would be at the Polish-Ukrainian borders to pick up Nigerians.

It, therefore, advised Nigerians crossing over to Poland to present 02-953, Kosiarzy 22B, 02-956 Warszawa as the destination address to the border officials.

 In light of the recent happenings in Ukraine. Please be advised that for all Nigerians crossing over to Poland would have us waiting for them.

The Federal Government of Nigeria is making necessary arrangements for the evacuation of those stranded in Ukraine through the Embassy in Warsaw, Poland.

Please present this as your destination address with the Border controls 02-953, Kosiarzy 22B, 02-956 Warszawa.

The Nigerian Embassy staff and along with volunteers will be at the Polish-Ukrainian borders with buses and vans to pick up Nigerians from the crossing border points and locations below:

Hrebenne-Rawa Ruska
Szkola Podstawowa w Lubyczy Krolewskiej (zaplecze hali sportowej) ul. Jana III Sobieskiego 5, 22-680 Lubycza Krolewska
Phone: +48-729275316

Korczowa-Krakowiec
Swietlica, Korczowa 155, 37-552 Korczowa
Phone: +48-579201775

Medyka-Szeginie
Hala Sportowa – Medyka 285, 37-732 Medyka
Phone: +48-729242516

Budomierz-Hurszew
Szkola Podstawowa w m. Krowica Sama 183, 37-625 Krowica Sama
Phone: +48-739493541

Thank you.
The Embassy of Nigeria,
Warsaw, Poland

BY  Alexander Okere

The Nigerian Railway Corporation has said it offers one of the cheapest train services in the world, adding that its current charges for rail transportation were low when compared with the value of services offered.

Its Managing Director and Chief Executive, Mr Fidet Okhiria, who disclosed this during an interview with Saturday PUNCH, also said the operations of the NRC were heavily subsidised by the Federal Government to make rail transportation affordable.

“We are operating under a heavy subsidy. That ticket you say is N5,000, if you value it, you would see that it is up to N20,000. The government still provides funding. It pays our members of staff 100 per cent because what the customer pays cannot pay salaries. So, the government is subsidising our operations.

“In Europe, it costs more to travel by rail than by air because the rail takes you from city centre to city centre;  it is timely and more convenient. But we have to also meet the cost of operation halfway. The government is providing a lot of funds to make it work.

“The user should be able to contribute to it (rail transportation) else it would run down again and the benefit would be lost completely. A user has a choice of what they want to travel on, that was why we had three classes when we were designing the system,” Okhiria said.

While reacting to concerns expressed by some Nigerians over ticket cost, he explained that the NRC provided various levels of train services.

He added, “We have the VIP (class) with 24 collapsible seats in a coach and it costs N5,000 (per person). There is the executive or business class with 55 seats (two in a row) and there is another class of 86 or 88 seats (with five seats in a row), depending on one’s pocket and the convenience they want. Some are N2,500, N3,500 and N6,500, depending on the time. So, it is cheap to go by train, even if it is free, people would still complain.”

•I was chained for 10 days for refusing to prostitute- auxiliary nurse •17,414 Nigerians return from Libya in seven years

By Evelyn Usman

A chartered Boeing 737-800 aircraft- Al Buraq, landed at the cargo wing of  Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos,  Wednesday night, with 159 stranded Nigerians returnees  from Libya ,alighting from the air stair.

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Two of them could barely walk unassisted.  While one  sat on a wheelchair, the other was with crutches. They stood at the aircraft’s service door, unable to alight, until officials of the National Emergency Management Agency ,NEMA went to carry them to a waiting ambulance.

The returnees’ gloomy countenances changed immediately they stepped on the soil of their fatherland, a mission most of them thought was impossible owing to the near-death conditions treatments in their search for a better living condition in a strange land.

Statistics of returnee

 This is not the first time stranded Nigerians would be assisted back home  from Libya. Statistics at Saturday Vanguard’s disposal revealed that  between 2016 and February 2022, 17,414 Nigerians have been assisted back home from Libya alone.

A breakdown of this figure showed that   315 Nigerians voluntarily returned in 2016; 6,806 returned  in 2017;  4,123 in 2018 and 4,628 in 2019.

In 2020,   816 stranded Nigerian returnees were assisted back home from Libya   and 360 of them in 2021. Between January and February 2022 alone,  the nation has witnessed  the return of  346 stranded Nigerians .

Out of this number, 167 were repatriated from Libya , in addition to the  159 Nigerians that voluntarily returned on Wednesday . Among  the latest returnees  were  80 adult females,  four female children and an infant . There were also 67 adult males, six children and one male infant.

Astonishingly, the majority of the ladies whose ages were between 20 and 43, were discovered to be from the South West region of the state, as against previous insinuation  that girls from Edo State were specialists in travelling out of the country.

The deceit

With the number of Nigerian returnees from Libya and the constant reportage of their  near death  experiences there, one would have expected  Nigerian  youths to shun the temptation of attempting to go through the valley of death  in their search for greener pasture.

Surprisingly, among those who just returned were undergraduates who abandoned their studies in Nigeria . Some of them were also discovered to have left just last year , thereby leaving one to wonder if they never read the robust reports of previous returnees either on the pages of  newspapers or  on  different  social media handles.

One of  the returnees  who  proffered  an answer to this question  blamed  some travel agents for their woes, saying they were never told from the onset that their destination was Libya. But this has always been the story, yet many yearly embark on this grave journey.

Too late to turn back

For  Mrs Olaitan who hails from Oyo State, she had this to say: “  My  journey to Libya started when I got the news that I could  get a good job overseas. I left my job at Ikeja, Lagos   to embark on the journey for  a better life. I left Lagos in 2018, with some other people who were also deceived. The agents said  some of us were going to Germany and others, Italy. We were excited as we prepared for the  journey . We were told that the process would  start when we got to Kano state.

 The  journey to greener pastures took us about a month. Some of us were stranded and ran  out of cash. We passed so many terrorist camps before we got to Libya. We stayed without food for  days until we eventually reached Libya.

“What we saw  in Libya wasn’t what we were told. Rather, we were told that the available jobs were prostitution and house-help. By then, going back home was difficult.  We were used like slaves, with no time  to rest.

“We worked as a maid and were paid between N50,000 and N70,000, depending on the agreement with the family we worked for. But prostitution was the best chance of survival. Those who worked  in the hospital also had their fair share  of the hellish condition.

 I paid up to N2million  to settle with my agent. Many others went into prostitution because that was the fastest way they could pay their agents”.

 On her part,  32- year- old single mother, Oluwande Aisha, who left Nigeria in 2018, also said her agent never told her she was going to Libya.

She said:  “ We spent  one month  in the desert before we arrived  Libya.  On reaching there, I worked as a maid for one year and six months before I could pay N1.8 million to the agent who sponsored the trip.

Working as a maid is horrible. There was never a time to rest except after midnight.  We were drained to the extent that  we had no strength to work. Besides,  security agents were very unfriendly too.  I regret making that move and I am glad to be  home”.

Abandoned university education

For  28-year Foluke Olatunji,  she abandoned her  education at the  Federal Polytechnic, Offa,  Ilorin, Kwara State, with the intention to go to Europe to further her study and at the same time, work.

She said: “  I had a  friend  who had  been assisting me  for a long time, when I lamented about the situation in Nigeria. At one point she stopped  and suggested I should come over . I thought over the matter for two months before deciding to leave.

“My journey started at Agege, Pen Cinema, to Kano,   where I met other girls .  On our journey in the desert,   our vehicle  had technical problems.  I got scared  and started crying,  I wanted to go back but I was told  to pay  N100,000.

“When I got to Libya, the woman  I was supposed to meet was nowhere to be found. I was told she was in Italy. I confronted my friend who linked me up with the opportunity to  express my disappointment to her because this was not what we agreed.

“ I spent three years and some months in Libya working as a house maid. I was told to pay 1.7million naira to the agent that facilitated the journey. I  was shocked and surprised because none of this was mentioned to me, I was only promised help, and was told that whatever I wished to do after, would be appreciated. Other Nigerian ladies I met there told me how they were deceived with mouth watery promises of good jobs.

For me, the family  I stayed with could speak English .So, it was easy for me to communicate. However after paying, my agent still collected my 10 months’ salary, without giving me a dime. This was because we were not paid directly.

“ I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t inform my parents about my journey to Libya.  Even when I got there, I lied to them that  I was in  Dubai. I came back to Nigeria to continue my education, even if I have  to start afresh. I hope other Nigerian youths will learn from my story” she said bitterly.

Chained for 10 days

During a chat with 23-year-old Bose, an Ogun state born,  she spoke with difficulty as she was still writhing in  excruciating pains from her broken leg.

Her ordeal was the most pathetic as she revealed that she was chained for 10 days for refusing to go into prostitution , in order to pay  her agent.

According to her: “After   completing my apprenticeship in nursing here in Nigeria,  I got an opportunity to work overseas as a trainee for six months.  I was not the only one involved. I got excited and jumped on the opportunity. I went with my certificate with the hope of getting a job after the training, unknown to all of us that we were being taken to Libya for prostitution and human trafficking.

“The picture of what we would face yonder started in the one month journey in the desert. When we arrived there, I was shocked that all they  told us about getting jobs and training were  lies.

“Rather, I was sold to a Nigerian family . This was  a routine for everyone who  was  taken there with the promise of  getting a  Job. To my greatest surprise, the human  trafficking business  was mostly done by Nigerians who have stayed long  there. That is one major way of making money.  They sell us to families in need of our services, especially  for prostitution ,so we can be used to make money for them.

On getting to the Nigerian family I was sold to, I  was chained  with wire and a cloth was put in my throat, with tape covering my mouth. They told me  I would remain there  if  I refused  to go into  prostitution, that it was the only job they could offer me.  I rejected the offer and I was kept in a room for about a week and three days. The wife of the man later directed   that I should be untied and  sold away. “ When I got to the second family, I was taken to a place called  connection house for prostitution.  In the connection house,   both boys and girls were  kept there for prostitution.  That is also a place where human beings are sold as in the days of slave trade

“I was lucky to get a telephone call from a man there , with which I contacted my family. That was how I managed to escape to Nigeria’s embassy.

“ But other girls are still trapped there. Some died of diseases while a lot of them are  living with different types of venereal diseases because of the different types of men who came to have them against their volition. Some of these men would not take their bath for days . Some of them  who looked sickly  would not use condom”.

NEMA DG speaks 

Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed who received the last batch of Nigerian returnees from Libya , Wednesday, admonished them to  adopt a positive attitude towards life challenges.

Represented by the Lagos Territorial Office Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, he said, “It is normal in life to struggle for better and improved living conditions. But  in the struggle, we must avoid endangering our lives. There is nowhere in the world that its citizens will not have to strive to  attain a good life within the limited resources available in that country.

“Nigeria is better endowed  than most countries where young Nigerians are travelling to seek greener pastures. What we need to do is for all of us to look inward and avail ourselves of the countless opportunities in Nigeria.

“ Government of the day  has been providing an enabling environment for us to thrive and will continue to cooperate with development partners in creating level playing grounds for all Nigerians in the country”, he said even as he advised them to discourage other youths who have the intention of migrating.

By Innocent Odoh

Until the airports in Ukraine are opened, Nigerians trapped in the country may not have an easy exit, the federal government has been told by the authorities of Ukraine.

Consequently, the Nigerian government is weighing the option of evacuating the affected citizens by road.

This was one of the outcomes of the meeting Nigeria had with the two envoys of Russia and Ukraine to Nigeria yesterday.

The Ambassador of Ukraine Kirdoda Valerii had said that his country's air space was no longer safe for flying and that the airports had been closed.

Nigeria had summoned the Ambassador of Russia Alexei Shebarshin and Valerii following the escalating violence triggered by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on Thursday.

The minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, who met with the envoys separately behind closed doors, told reporters that during his parley with the Russian envoy, he expressed the displeasure of the Nigerian government over the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, a United Nations (UN) member state, and country with which Nigeria has diplomatic relations.

Onyeama also told Shebarshin that Nigeria wants Russia to revert to the status quo before the military action and to prioritise diplomacy and dialogue.

"This is really the position of the government. And also, that we have 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine and we are very concerned about what we are hearing and what we are seeing regarding missiles and bombs about the safety of our Nigerian citizens there, that we would like to be able to evacuate them," he said.

According to Onyeama, the Russian envoy promised to communicate the concern of the Nigerian government to his home country, adding that Russia considers Nigeria a friendly nation and would do nothing to harm her citizens. The envoy assured the minister that their action is targeted at military installations and not against civilian areas.

Onyeama said he also discussed with the Russian envoy about the practicalities of how Nigeria can get her citizens out of Ukraine, those who want to leave the country and what measures they could apply to facilitate to safeguard Nigerians in Ukraine, adding that hopefully, the war won't last long.

On the question about the evacuation of Nigerians from Ukraine, the minister said the issue can only come up when the airports open.

Onyeama said the Russian envoy stated that they would also see some airports as military targets possibly.

The minister further discussed road travel as an alternative to facilitate the evacuation of Nigerians even though some Nigerians have been able to flee into the neighouring countries such as Poland.

The Russian envoy, however, told Onyeama that there might be risk involved, while also saying that Russia was mindful of the civilians from foreign countries and promised to take all the necessary measures to ensure their security.

"He was a lot more sanguine, optimistic that no harm will come to them, but we cannot take any risks," Onyeama stated.

In the same vein, Onyeama, after his meeting with the Ukrainian envoy, expressed the sympathy of the Nigerian government to the country over the war imposed on the nation and its people that came under heavy bombardment, which has led to dozens of deaths and injuries and destruction of property.

The minister pointed out that Ukraine is a country that Nigeria has diplomatic relations, a member of the UN and cannot condone the violation of their sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He also told the Ukrainian envoy that Nigeria has over 5,000 students and citizens in the country and was very concerned about their safety and welfare.

"And we certainly want the cooperation of the government of Ukraine to do whatever is possible to ensure their safety and security and to also seek advice as to how the evacuation can be facilitated," Onyeama said.

According to the minister, the envoy said the Ukrainian government has given all the residents and civilians, specific instructions about how to stay safe and the measures to take.

He said the Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine will also act as a coordinating mechanism in reaching out to all Nigerians in Ukraine and ensure that they adhere to the advice and directives.

On his part, the Ukrainian envoy expressed gratitude to the government and people of Nigeria for their support.

"Right now, we are in a very difficult situation, but we are fighting against the aggression and we believe that we will all win," the Ukrainian envoy said.

Valerii also said Nigerian students in Ukraine were in the same situation as anybody else in his country.

"Ukrainian government does not differentiate between people on the basis of their nationality and that is the best effort to protect everybody.

"Currently, the evacuation of Nigerian students is not possible because it is not safe to fly on the sky of Ukraine. As soon as it is safe to fly on the sky of Ukraine, we will join the Embassy of Nigeria in Ukraine and jointly with the Nigerian government, we will arrange for the evacuation of Nigerian students," the envoy said.

On the reports that Nigerians are being conscripted into the Ukrainian army to fight, the envoy noted declared that it was optional.

The federal government also yesterday raised concerns over the refusal by Poland to allow Nigerians fleeing the conflict in Ukraine into the country even when nationals of other African countries were reportedly being allowed into Poland.

The minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, raised this issue on behalf of the government when he met with envoys of European Union countries in Abuja yesterday.

Onyeama noted that the government was receiving emergency calls from Nigerians who were going by road, evacuating Ukraine and a lot of them heading to Poland.

"We have had a number of calls, desperate calls and that there are cases of women and pregnant women and so forth," Onyeama said.

The minister also said the government was informed that nationals of other African countries were being allowed into Poland and wondered why Nigerians were being denied entry into the country.

According to the minister, the Polish Ambassador to Nigeria, Joanna Tarnawska, has however, assured him to immediately check with the capital in order to address the situation.

Nigeria is preparing to host the president and first lady of Poland, and it appears to the government as an aberration that a situation that people fleeing a global crisis like what is taking place in Ukraine should be prevented from getting out to safety.

"So, we hope that also the European Union and others, and if that is indeed the case, will prevail on, not just necessarily Poland, but also any other border country to please share some sympathy and humanness to refugees fleeing this crisis, be they Nigerians or any other nationality," Onyeama said.

Tarnawska, in her remarks, however said Poland was taking every necessary step to provide safety for those fleeing Ukraine.

Earlier, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Samuela Isopi, who led the delegation, said the meeting justified the importance that the EU attached to the issue of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Isopi told Onyeama that the European Union was ready to assist Ukraine with help, including financial and humanitarian assistance.

BY  Deborah Tolu-Kolawole, Solomon Odeniyi, Godfrey George, Olufemi Morgan and Emmanuel Ojo

…say Polish officials bar entry, demand visas, authorisation letters

•We’re hiding in bunkers, Internet down, can’t get food, fuel –Students

The Federal Government on Friday said there can be no evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine until the airports in the European country, which is under attack by Russia, are reopened.

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in the early hours of Thursday, had ordered an invasion of Ukraine.

The invasion was marked with shelling and rocket attacks on several Ukrainian major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, leading to dozens of deaths.

The invasion, which has continued, has created widespread panic and seen many fleeing Ukraine.

Countries such as India, South Africa, among others had announced the facilitation of the evacuation of their nationals from Ukraine to neighbouring Poland by setting up offices at the Ukrainian-Polish borders.

According to the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry, there are no fewer than 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine, majority of who are students.

Ukraine is a choice destination for many Nigerian students, especially those in medical-related fields, because it is cheaper compared with other western countries.

The National Association of Nigerian Students in Ukraine had sent out a Save Our Soul message to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), seeking immediate evacuation from Ukraine.

On Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the Federal Government was concerned about the safety of the 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine.

 “The advice we were getting is that we should not panic. The embassy was in touch with the students telling them to take reasonable precautions,” Onyeama said.

The foreign affairs minister spoke in Abuja after having separate meetings with the Ukrainian ambassador to Nigeria, Kirdoda Valerii, and his Russian counterpart, Alexei Shebarshin.

Onyeama disclosed that during his meeting with the Russian envoy, he discussed the possibility of Nigeria getting her citizens out of Ukraine but the Russian envoy told him there might be risk involved.

According to him, Shebarshin, however, said Russia was mindful of the civilians from foreign countries and would take all the necessary measures to ensure their security.

“He was a lot more sanguine, optimistic that no harm will come to them, but we cannot take any risks,” the minister quoted Shebarshin to have said.

However, Onyeama said he made it clear to the Russian envoy that the Federal Government of Nigeria would not condone the violation of the territorial integrity of a United Nations member state with which Nigeria has diplomatic relations.

Onyema said he told Shebarshin that Nigeria was urging Russia to revert to the status quo before the military action on Ukraine and to prioritise diplomacy and dialogue.

“This is really the position of the government. And also, that we have 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine and we are very concerned about what we are hearing and what we are seeing, regarding missiles and bombs about the safety of our Nigerian citizens over there, that we would like to be able to evacuate them.

“This would be communicated to his headquarters and that obviously, they consider Nigeria a friendly country and Nigerians; and that they would do nothing to harm Nigerians and assured me that their action is targeted at military installations and that they are not about to start attacking civilian areas and so forth,” Onyeama said.

On his meeting with the Ukrainian envoy, Onyeama said he told Valerii that Nigeria has over 5,000 students and citizens in the country and was very concerned about their safety and welfare.

“And we certainly want the cooperation of the Government of Ukraine to do whatever is possible to ensure their safety and security and to also seek advice as to how the evacuation can be facilitated,” he said.

He quoted the Ukrainian envoy to have said the evacuation of Nigerians in the European country, whose airspace had been shut down following Russia’s invasion, was not possible for now.

Valerii, however, said the Ukrainian government had given safety tips and instructions to residents, adding that there was no discrimination between Ukrainians and foreigners in the safety measures.

Onyeama quoted the Ukrainian envoy to have stated that, “Right now, we are in a very difficult situation, but we are fighting against the aggression and we believe that we will all win.

“Ukrainian Government does not differentiate between people on the basis of their nationality and that is the best effort to protect everybody.

“Currently, the evacuation of Nigerian students is not possible because it is not safe to fly in the sky of Ukraine. As soon as it is safe to fly on the sky of Ukraine, we will join the Embassy of Nigeria in Ukraine and jointly with the Nigerian Government, we will arrange for the evacuation of Nigerian students.”

Valerii expressed gratitude to the Federal Government and people of Nigeria for their support.

Fleeing Nigerian students stranded at Poland border

Nigerians in students fleeing the conflict in Ukraine have been denied access to Poland and are currently stranded at Yarviv, a border town in Ukraine, Saturday PUNCH learnt.

It was gathered that Polish immigration officials are demanding that all Nigerians who wish to enter must possess visas and authorisation letters which the students have been unable to provide as the Nigerian embassy in Poland has yet to intervene.

The students had headed for the Polish border due to the shutting of Ukraine’s airspace. However, after being denied access to Poland, many of the students are now considering returning to Kyiv, which is now under attack.

A Nigerian student, who gave her name as Victoria, told Saturday PUNCH that, “We were not allowed to pass the Yarviv border. We were told that we had to present visas or authorisation letters. One of the officials here who spoke English told us that our embassy will have to issue us letters of authorisation. The issue now is that they are letting some people stay at the refugee camps but they will take your passports from you.

“We are scared, they are sending us back. It was not even easy to get to the border. Some of us here do not understand the language. So, we can’t even communicate with the locals. We try to use Google translator but we can’t even communicate. It’s not so easy moving in the cold.

“I am afraid; I don’t know what to do. My school sent an email and told us to remain calm and not panic but to be honest, it is hard to tell someone not to panic in this kind of situation. We’ve returned to the bunkers but we will still continue to try our luck.”

Another student, Obinna Victor, they had to seek shelter in subway as buildings were being hit by bombs. He further stated that roads were deserted while supermarkets had run out of supplies.

“So far, I have not received any news of anyone that crossed the border to the Poland side. But I think it’s much safer to be closer to the border until the Nigeria government makes an agreement with the Polish government about Nigerians crossing over,” he said.

A relative of one of the students in Ukraine, who identified herself as Mfon John, told Saturday PUNCH that her sister informed her that many were turned back at the Polish border.

She said, “My sister is still in Kyiv. She told us that some people who tried to enter Poland were turned back because they had no letters of authorisation. She can’t speak the language, so it’s hard communicating with the locals. She says they are in the bunkers and things do not look good. She is afraid and we here are also afraid. We need the Federal Government to please step in.”

Also speaking with one of our correspondents, an official of the Nigerians in Diaspora, Poland, Rawlings Onyi, explained that the Nigerian community in Poland was doing everything possible to ensure that the students get access into the country.

“We are trying to work with the embassy to make sure that something is done. We have written to them and we expect that they attend to us. We are also trying to look for borders that will be easy for them to pass through,” said Onyi.

Saturday PUNCH made unsuccessful attempts to speak with the Nigerian embassy in Warsaw, Poland on steps being taken to ensure that fleeing students are granted letters of authorisations at the border.

Calls and emails sent to the contacts on the website of the embassy were not answered as of the time of filing this report.

Another Nigerian student, David Catalyst, told our correspondent that students could not travel anymore because of the hike in the cost of transportation.

“I left Kyiv for Lviv this afternoon. This is not funny at all. Some students couldn’t even travel because of the hike in the cost of transportation. It gets more dangerous every more minute spent in the major cities of Ukraine. Your prayers are needed here.”

The leader of the Nigerians in Diaspora, Poland, Dr Tade Omotosho, said during a live broadcast by Channels TV, “Nigerian communities have been rallying around to see how we can help and provide shelter to people. We need people from the other side. We haven’t got any official statement from the Nigerian Embassy in Poland and the Embassy in Kyiv as they have not been on top of the situations as we would have wanted them to. They should do better.

“We have been contacting them, but the Embassy in Kyiv cannot do anything to help. The only thing they have said is that we should remain calm and protect ourselves.

A group of six female students who spoke to Channels Television on Friday from Ukraine also confirmed that the Nigerian embassy in Ukraine had neither responded to telephone calls nor text messages despite earlier promises that they would continue to provide support to citizens.

“We have made calls to the Nigerian embassy and we have also sent out emails but we have received no responses,” they said.

Victor, another Nigerian student in the embattled country, told Saturday PUNCH, “We are trapped. We are in trouble. We are hiding in our rooms.  But we (Nigerian students in the same building) have agreed to stay together. We are not actually expecting anything good from the Nigerian government. The Nigerian government won’t do anything to help us. So sad!”

News medium, Aljazeera, also spoke with some Nigerian students who confirmed their current predicament.

Annora Omolu, a Nigerian undergraduate at Kyiv Medical University, said she heard a small blast by the window of her apartment.

Confused and scared, she began to reach out to the Nigerian embassy in Ukraine for assistance. “Can they send us flights? Everybody is absolutely on their own,” she said.

Nigerian student unions in Ukraine said they made several calls to the Nigerian embassy in Kyiv without getting a response.

“There has been no embassy response,’’ Anjola Ero-Phillips, President of the Nigerian Students Union in Lviv, told Al Jazeera. “All they say is check the website and the last update on the website is January 26. Everybody is absolutely on their own,’’ he added.

The House of Representatives had called on the Federal Government to immediately begin the evacuation of Nigerian students. The lower chamber also pleaded with Nigerian airline, Air Peace, to assist with the evacuation.

However, human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), lambasted the House of Representatives for calling on Air Peace to evacuate Nigerians.

Falana told Saturday PUNCH that it was not the job of a private organisation to evacuate Nigerians but the primary responsibility of the government to coordinate such.

Falana said, “Air Peace is a private business, so the National Assembly has no business asking Air Peace to evacuate students. Will the government pay? Will the National Assembly appropriate money for it instead of appealing to Air Peace?

“It is the government that should spend money on rescuing stranded Nigerians, not a private airline. Unfortunately, this is one of the prices we have to pay for our dysfunctional educational system. The government is not fixing things. Hence we have been witnessing exodus.”

Act now, Aisha Buhari tells FG

The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, on Friday backed the called by the National Assembly and appealed to the Foreign Affairs Ministry to handle the situation as quick as possible.

 “The Minister of Foreign Affairs should treat this matter as an emergency, while our citizens should stay calm, comply with safety procedures and avoid self-help in order to avoid the mischief of human traffickers,” Mrs Buhari said.

LONDON (Reuters) -British Airways (BA) said it would cancel all short-haul flights from London's Heathrow airport until midday on Saturday as it deals with an IT failure.

The airline has said the problem, which came to light on Friday and affected its website, app, and airport operations, was not caused by a cyber attack but was a hardware issue.

BA has been caught up in tit-for-tat bans by Russia and Britain that have stopped their respective national carriers from using each other's airspace.

"We are extremely sorry that due to the continuing technical issues we are facing we have regrettably had to cancel all short-haul flights from Heathrow today until midday," the airline said in a statement.

"Our long-haul services at Heathrow and all flights at Gatwick and London City Airport are due to operate as planned, but customers may experience some delays. Our website ba.com is working and customers can check-in online and at the airport," the airline said.

It advised passengers to check on its website for the latest information before travelling to the airport as more disruption was expected.

BA, owned by IAG, was hit by a major computer system failure in 2017 that stranded 75,000 passengers over a holiday weekend, sparking a public relations disaster and pledges from the carrier that it would do better in future.

The company said customers would be offered a full refund for cancelled services or could rebook at a later date for free.

"We know we have let our customers down and we will do everything we can to make this up to them – but for now our focus is on getting as many customers and flights away as we can."

The conflicts which today plague many African countries continue to shine a light and harshly too at their troubled history. This is because many times, to find the roots of that which is strangling the present, one only needs to reach into the recent past.

While it would be easier to blame the leadership of many African countries for the problem which plague them today, a measure of justice mandates that a measuring rod is reached into the past to determine the exact provenance of those problems, especially how they were created for African countries at their infancy, and primed to grow into monstrous difficulties along the way. Many African countries readily spring to mind here.

For example, Belgium`s baleful fingerprints in the conflicts which continue to plague the DR Congo today provide a stark example. Nigeria, the Giant of Africa, has largely enjoyed stability in the ensuing 61 years since it came to independence. The Nigerian civil war which came barely seven years into independence can be largely chalked down to the teething problems every country experiences when it first begins a new journey of independence, and the fact that the exuberance of young military officers who unexpectedly found themselves thrust into positions of authority forced them to act foolishly.

Way before the Africa was partitioned during the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th Century, the kingdoms which later came to form many African countries had shown themselves as culturally advanced. Archaeologists have been startled by the sheer value of the discoveries they made about some African countries and what those discoveries had to say about the past.

There is proof that way before colonialism, Africans knew how to craft and sculpt advanced artefacts. Many of these artefacts were plundered and taken away during colonialism in heists that continue to daze historians even till this day.

Nigeria has been in the eye of this storm with the ancient and culturally prodigious Benin Kingdom showing that even in the days when deep darkness covered much of Africa, it knew how just how to preserve its immense cultural wealth in sculptures and artefacts.

Many of those artefacts were carted away during colonialism to grimly expose the colonialists as not just political and economic slave drivers and task masters, but cultural saboteurs. Just like the infamous Abacha loot, the artefacts have continued to trickle in over the years as Nigeria has ramped up efforts and pressure to recover everything that was stolen from it.

On February 19 2022, Nigeria`s president, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari took this pressure a notch higher when he appealed to countries, institutions and bodies both private and public to return Nigeria`s artefacts in their possession just as he disclosed that 1,130 Benin bronzes would be returned to Nigeria by the German government before the year runs out. This was on the occasion marking the official handover of the Okwukwor and the Head of an Oba of Benin Bronzes repatriated from the University of Cambridge and the University of Aberdeen after about 125 years of them leaving Nigeria.

There is no doubt that colonialism indelibly scarred many African countries, leaving them struggling even till this day. There is no telling if African can ever make a full recovery. However, it can only be an auspicious start that maximum pressure is mounted to ensure that every stolen item is repatriated.

To do this, African governments as well as the governments of any of those countries where any of such treasures is found must take full responsibility for their repatriation.

Kene Obiezu,

[email protected]

BY  Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Governments of both Nigeria and the Republic of Benin yesterday met over boundary related issues. The two neighbouring countries were led to the meeting by the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema (Nigeria) and Aurélien Agbénonci (Republic of Benin). Speaking after the meeting, Onyeama said both countries had very positive and fruitful deliberations on three areas.

He disclosed that the meeting was basically to agree on the modality to resolve everything, without being too legalistic, but more as brotherly countries, to find sensible solutions.

He said: “And that is what we have been able to do today to agree on how to go forward and how to arrive at a win-win situation for both sides.”Nigeria’s minister further said both countries have been able to identify a roadmap such that by the end of this year, there will be agreeable solutions to all the issues.

Also speaking, Agbénonci said both countries met to find solutions to issues relating to the borders between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.

He said: “Benin and Nigeria cannot be in any confrontation concerning the borders. We are very close, the geography puts us together, the culture and history as well.

“So, my impression is that we find very interesting, positive solutions and interests of our two countries in the interest of our population.”

On her part, the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, said the meeting looked at issues in two of the areas affected in Ogun State and that she was pleased with the steps agreed at the meeting for the complete resolution of the border areas that are unclear in Ogun State.

Business mogul and Father of Nigerian Tourism, Chief Mike Amachree, has said that despite the COVID -19 global pandemic, current difficulties in international travels, and insecurity in some parts of the country, Nigeria is still very much an attractive destination to tourists. Amachree said his position on Nigerian tourism prospect is borne out of his interaction with some of his contacts and agents in Nigeria’s source markets in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Brazil and the Caribbean. He said: “Our contacts with partners from these countries show that many people are interested in coming to Nigeria.

When I talk with my contacts, they will always show that they are interested in coming to Nigeria.’’ He said that for Nigeria to continue to maintain this level of interest, the country needs to do more for tourism. He called on business men to invest in tourism because of the opportunities that abound. “They could invest in hospitality business like hotels and resorts. There are also opportunities in transportation, tour operation, amusement parks and so on,” He said. Saying that: “The government should create the enabling environment through policies like making the process of obtaining Nigeria visa easy.

Most of the inbound tourists always complain about the difficulties in getting visas to come to Nigeria. Tourism cannot grow if the tourists find it difficult to come to Nigeria. He further stated: “These sites are directly under the control of the states. While we are calling on private business men to invest in tourism, states should also be up and doing by investing in infrastructures to these sites to make them accessible and also providing the necessary amenities within the area the sites are domiciled in.’’

Amachree, a former president of Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN), has been at the forefront of tourism development in Nigeria. He has led the private sector advocacy for the creation of a stand-alone tourism ministry in Nigeria others. He was a member of the launching committee of the Plateau State Development Fund. He also has substantial investments in tourism in Lagos, Nasarawa and Rivers states through his Brooklyn Hotels chain. In River State, he also developed the Port Harcourt Tourist Beach and nurtured it into a major leisure and tourism hub in the state.