Facilitating International Scholarship offers for Nigerian students (evacuees) from Sudan

"War does not determine who is right - only who is left." Bertrand Russell

On May 9, 2023,I had the opportunity to join the delegation of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) led by the Chairman/CEO Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Headquarters in Abuja. We were received by the Registrar of JAMB - Prof. Is-haq Oloyede who welcomed us warmly with his team to a press conference to discuss how the student evacuees from Sudan can continue their education.

Living in France and having interfaced with a few people who were formerly based in Ukraine, I have a little idea of what impact war could have on people's psychological framework.?

About 5,500 Nigerian students in Sudan will be evacuated due to the ongoing violence. I must commend the ongoing effort of all stakeholders in bringing them home. As at yesterday, the 11th batch of evacuees safely arrived Nigeria. Nonetheless, what happens next? This is crucial so the academic pursuit of these students are not shut down leading them into greater despair.

As the Co-Founder of Friends of Nigeria (FON), our diaspora organization stands in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are returning from Sudan. Leveraging on my engagement as a Faculty member in 2 International Universities, I was glad to announce scholarship offers received from these institutions to our Nigerian students evacuated from Sudan.?

The institutions, American International University West Africa (The Gambia) and the Paris Graduate School (PGS) in France have graciously proposed to offer exceptional scholarships to a number of the evacuees. In the coming weeks, we will be collaborating with the stakeholders to fine-tune the necessary details needed to ensure that the Nigerian students are able to secure access to these opportunities to further their education without interruptions either physically at AIUWA(The Gambia) or online at PGS (France).

I want to thank all stakeholders especially the management and board of the institutions and a special recognition for the NiDCOM chair, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa for the opportunity to contribute to this intervention and bring our added value as Nigerians in Diaspora.

Indeed, our unity, resourcefulness and resilience as a people are greater than prevailing storms.

#sudancrisis #Nigeria #Students #Education #scholarships #JAMB #Nidcom #AIUWA #PGS #Diaspora #friendsofnigeria

To read more: https://www.nannews.ng/2023/05/10/american-intl-university-gambia-offers-scholarships-to-nigerian-student-evacuees-from-sudan/

Official press release from the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission(NiDCOM) on this engagement is below.