Rex Enabulele/Abuja
Six hundred and thirty Nigerians have returned from troubled Ukraine and recounted their sad experiences.
The returnees came in two batches from Romania and Poland, where they fled to when their host country Ukraine was hit by the Russian Army.
The first to land were 450 persons, mostly students studying in Ukraine evacuated by the Nigerian government from Romania. They arrived aboard Max Air 747 at about 7:15on Friday.
The second batch, 180, including four children, arrived at about 7.00 pm from Poland on Air Peace Flight.
Some of the evacuees who spoke with journalists on arrival appreciated the Federal Government for its efforts in ensuring they were safely evacuated to their homeland but narrated the pains they had to go through to get out of Ukraine.
For instance, Wegwu Kella, a female Nigerian from Rivers State and student of Dnipro Medical Institute, Ukraine, said it was a bitter/sweet feeling leaving Ukraine to Nigeria.
“Going back to Nigeria, is a bitter/sweet feeling, I feel Ukraine has been home and since my arrival in the country things have been working out well but I feel I am safe and returning to Nigeria to meet love ones”, she emotionally stated.
Kella, who could not but thanked the Nigerian government for getting her and others out of Ukraine, said since the start of the war she had been living in pains and had really been tough.
According to her, “I was really in another city when the bombing started. The social media has been awashed with news of the intending attack so I have left the capital city.
“When I was leaving for the border I was in the cold and had to walk down to the border for six hours straight to get to the the gate and on getting to the gate they were allowing only Ukrainians to get pass and I have to leave and get a bus to another border point and this took another 24 hours to get to but this time around I was in a bus.
“I cannot explain how I got here because I was going to miss the flight, I went to the embassy yesterday to register and I got to the airport and was told the plane was full up.
“I waited to see if any opportunity arises and today because I was in front of the line I was able to make the flight.”
Another evacuees, Eniola Badejo, a student from Ukraine also appreciated the government’s efforts, but appealed for more information and better coordination as the exercise continued.
She said: “We thank the Federal Government of Nigeria because it has been really tiring, we went through a lot of stress, many of us travelled all the way and we have barely slept.
“We want them to give us more information because we were not given enough information.
“I am just happy to be going back to my family, I feel happy and grateful that I am going back to my parents.”
For Joseph Chikwado, another student who left Ukraine, he said what was most important to him was his successful crossing from Ukraine into Poland amidst all the challenges as he looked forward to returning to Nigeria.
“It was a very bad experience trying to get across the borders from Ukraine into Poland because of the weather.
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“It was very bad and very cold, very long distance, no vehicle to convey us to the borders, we got there pretty late, we had to find a way to warm ourselves.
“We are happy we are safe now and getting back to our country, I feel relieved.”
Nigeria’s Ambassador to Poland, Christian Ugwu appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari for his swift intervention and release of funds to get all stranded Nigerians in Ukraine back home.
Ugwu said the embassy in Poland was on top of the situation and had successfully coordinated the first batch who were being evacuated already.
The ambassador, however, urged all Nigerians who had made it to Poland to ensure they got ready to be evacuated home rather than remain in Poland.
“We have been trying our best to convince the Nigerian students that there is no need to remain here in Poland to constitute nuisance and that the Federal Government is trying their possible best to make them comfortable.
“And that is why they have made provisions for them to be comfortable in hotels and provided aircraft to convey them back home.
“For those who refused to go, they will be remaining at their own risk.
“We advise parent to try as much as possible to counsel their wards and children that they should come back, when the crises in Ukraine subsides they can return.
“Remaining in Poland will be a difficult thing for them.
“It is kudos to Nigeria that the President has granted an urgent flight evacuation to these students, he has sent funds and things are moving accordingly.
“And the Nigerian students from Ukraine are happy that they are being treated well and being taken care of,” Ugwu said.
Amb. Bolaji Akinremi, leader of the evacuation exercise from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained that the March 3 flight was cancelled due to delay in getting all the intending evacuees together from their respective hotels.
Akinremi explained that as at when they were ready, the International law did not allow for the crew members to continue with the journey as they had overshot their duty time.
Akinremi disclosed as at the time of filing this report that another batch is being expected from Hungary in the next one or two hours.
