‘We didn’t think we’d survive’ — returnees recount ordeal in Sudan, Egypt

Nigerians stranded in war-torn Sudan have been flown back into the country.

They were evacuated from Egypt by Air Peace and Nigeria Air Force (NAF) on Wednesday.

The evacuation process initially suffered hitches when Nigerians were refused entry at the Egyptian border.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention led to the resolution of the challenges and the stranded Nigerians were allowed passage.

Speaking with TheCable at the Abuja airport shortly after their arrival, Zainab, one of the evacuees, said she had lost hope in their survival in Sudan.

The 300-level physiotherapy student said they were not treated like humans at the Aswan border in Egypt, describing their condition as “really terrible and totally hard”.

“When the war started, I didn’t know because we were sleeping, we just started hearing gunshots and rockets and we had to leave where we were for safety,” she said.

“We had to leave Khartoum for Egypt and it was totally hard for us. Some of us don’t have money and life there was very expensive. There were pregnant women and children who were sick.

“We didn’t think we would survive it because we slept in the car. All of our lives were in the car. Life there was totally hard and they treat us like we are not human beings at the Aswan border in Egypt where we spent about six days.”

On her part, Akinola Barakat, another student, said the journey from Sudan to the Aswan border took them about a week, noting that the war happened “all of a sudden and we never expected it”.

“We had issues at the border. Sudan border to Egypt, that was where they gave us issues. We spent almost a week there and the journey wasn’t easy at all,” she said.

“It was all of a sudden. We never expected it. We just woke up in the morning and started hearing the sounds of bombs and everyone had to start fleeing.

“I left Nigeria to study in Sudan because studying in Nigeria is not easy. I studied at the International University of Africa.”

VIDEO: The journey back from Sudan wasn’t easy — Nigerian students share experiences

🎥 ~ @sarmerdk2 #SudanCrises pic.twitter.com/EZxPlJvANz

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— TheCable (@thecableng) May 4, 2023