President of the National Association of Nigerian Students in Sudan, Abubakar Babangida, tells EMMANUEL OJO about the war in Sudan and efforts made to evacuate Nigerian students caught up in the crisis
What were you studying in Sudan before the war started?
My name is Abubakar Babangida, president of the National Association of Nigerian Students in Sudan. I was studying Medicine and was in my final year. Medicine runs for five years and six years in some schools but it’s a five-year course in my school.
When did you leave Nigeria?
I left in 2018.
Why did you decide to go to Sudan to study?
Well, it’s normal. It was the idea of my parents and it’s an Islamic country and we are Muslim. From my name, Abubakar, you will know that.
How will you rate life in Sudan and its educational standard?
Well, most of the universities in Sudan are private and their educational system is good. They are organised and their level of education is excellent. The practicals (in school) are also good. The teachers are also trying their best. Their educational system is excellent and the universities are controlled by the Ministry of Higher Education. Universities cannot give you admission on their own, except with the approval of the Ministry of Higher Education. They start with your West African Examination Council results: they confirm it and thereafter, give you a number and confirm it, before you are enrolled.
You mentioned that the schools were private. How affordable are they?
Some of the universities are expensive and some are not expensive. It depends on the standard of the university and there‘s a university called International University of Africa, where people of different countries attend.
So, it depends on the standard of the university but the maximum pay is $10,000 per year. Some universities charge $4,000, and some $3,500.
Is it true that the majority of Nigerians studying in Sudan are from the North or are Muslim?
Well, there are people from other regions (of Nigeria) like the South-West, South-South, and South-East. There are even Christians that apply and get admission but most of the students are from the North. For our brothers from the South-East and South-West that can’t speak Arabic, it may take a lot for them to cope.
Knowing that the official language in Sudan is Arabic, are you also taught in Arabic?
Yes. In some universities, you are required to learn Arabic in your first year. Some universities are English-taught schools but you will take Arabic as a course and you are required to pass the Arabic course before moving to the second year. In some universities that is not necessary.
In your estimation, what’s the percentage of Nigerian students in Sudan that are not northerners?
They are very few because if you are in Sudan and you can’t speak or write Arabic, it will be very difficult for you to cope and I think that’s the reason we have a few of the other regions of Nigeria other than the North in Sudan. The percentage is very low.
However, they (Nigerians from the South) have their association. They have a church they built and they go there to worship and sometimes, we go there to celebrate with them, maybe on Christmas or New Year’s Day. They are all our brothers and sisters.
From your experience, how liberal is Sudan to other religions, and how free can non-Muslims go about with the practice of their religions?
Christians have a church, as I said. They go there every week, on Fridays and Thursday nights.
Can you describe what life was like in Sudan before the war?
Life was very good, cool, and (the Sudanese) were very friendly. As students from universities, we lived on the outskirts.
Can you explain how you got to know about the crisis in Sudan?
The whole thing started in the early hours of the day. All of a sudden, we started hearing gunshots and bombs and there was no movement to and from anywhere. So, we started calling one another, our brothers and sisters to know what was happening. We also watched TV until we got some information about what was happening.
Most of the Nigerians and Nigerian students lived around the base of the Rapid Support Forces. Because they (the RSF) were close to the (military) base, there were multiple attacks on the (military) base and that was how we found out about the situation. There was no movement around there (in Sudan) and there was no water and food. There was also no internet connection, no water supply, and so on. Some students didn’t have food to cook at that time and all of the shops had shut down. It was terrible.
What exactly caused the war?
It was about the tussle for leadership and it was between the president and vice-president. The RSF (Rapid Support Forces) group is loyal to the vice president and the army is for the president. The real issue was that the vice president wanted to become the president but the president didn’t want to step down and that was where it started. They started attacking each other and that was how it degenerated.
How endangered were you and other Nigerian students? Was there any record of injury, or death of any Nigerian student or Nigerian?
There was no death of any Nigerian student recorded, according to our report. You know we have students’ associations in schools and the states, so, every 24 hours, we had WhatsApp meetings and so on but there was no record of injury, although the injury that was recorded was not due to the war, it was due to an attack on some of our colleagues by (armed) robbers. They attacked about three of our colleagues and immediately, they were taken to the hospital for treatment.
What went through your mind when you discovered that the crisis was getting worse? Did you worry about you making it out alive?
Yes, and the only option we had was to be evacuated from the country because we had more than 10,000 (Nigeria) students but during the crisis, most of them were already in Nigeria for a holiday. When the crisis began, we were about 3,000, as a rough estimate. We had to start putting pressure on the (Nigerian) government to start evacuating students because the areas where most of the students were, were dangerous. There was no day the Sudanese Army didn’t attack the base of the Rapid Support Forces. They had helicopters flying and all that and at that time, the only option was to evacuate us and the government responded. I arrived on the last flight, with other students.
There were reports that many students were left stranded while other countries were coming to evacuate their citizens. How did the government respond to your call?
Let me tell you. As far as the Sudan crisis is concerned, Nigeria is the best. The Nigerian government tried its best. Talking about other nationals like America and the rest, the Americans in Sudan are not many, the same for the French and the rest. If you look at our population, the Nigerian government tried in the way it responded. The problem we had was the late response but immediately it responded, it did its best.
What roles did NANS in Sudan play in that regard and how were you able to contact the Nigerian government?
The thing was that I wrote letters to the Nigerian embassy on behalf of Nigerian students but as I said, we didn’t get a reply from the Nigerian embassy for about 10 days. Everywhere (in Sudan) was closed and everybody was at home; nobody could go anywhere. So, even if we sent letters, they would have given an excuse because nobody was on the ground.
When we realised, what we did was to make use of the (mass) media to attract the attention of the Nigerian Government, and from there, we are here (in Nigeria) today. Initially, it was worse. There was no form of response from anyone.
How long did it take before the government responded to you?
In less than 24 hours from when we released our letter, the government responded to us. The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission responded to us. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to us and the parents’ association too. You know we have a parents’ association for those studying in Sudan. They responded to us and they started evacuating our students. They asked us how they would go about it and they really tried, especially NIDCOM, the National Emergency Management Agency, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The embassy in Sudan got a call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from there, they called us and discussed how they would help us and go about it and things moved as we expected.
Many Nigerian students reported that they went through hell to get to the Egyptian border. What was the border experience like for you?
Well, for me, I was not in Egypt. I was in Khartoum (the capital of Sudan) during the war. The students went without any (diplomatic) official and from there, the problem started because they could not go that route without any official arrangement. That was the problem they had. There was no official with them, they just went to the border and also did not have any official letter from the Nigerian embassy and that was how the problem started. All the officials of the Nigerian embassy were still in Khartoum and we advised that they should not go without any official from the embassy because they would find it difficult.
I was on the last flight from Sudan because I could not return to Nigeria until all the (Nigerian) students had been evacuated. I knew that if I had left Sudan (earlier), there might have been a problem and I didn’t want any of the students to be left in Sudan and that was why I stayed till the end. When I realised that most of the students had been evacuated, I started finding my way (out of Sudan).
How many flights were made for the evacuation?
I think about 15 as of May 13, 2023.
What was the recorded number of students that the Nigerian government evacuated?
The government evacuated 2,518 students. The majority of the students were on holiday, so, they were not in Sudan as of the time of the crisis. Based on the numbers I have and reports I have from my executive (members of NANS-Sudan) and all that, all the students have been evacuated. Nigerians converged in three places before evacuation started. One was at the International University of Africa. We used to announce that every Nigerian student in Khartoum should make their way to the International University of Africa and from there, we recorded the number of students that were present. For some that were far off, we had some of our Sudanese friends who brought them (to the IUA).
Not a single Nigerian student was left except those that had found their way before evacuation started because some students found their way out before evacuation started. Those trapped in Sudan and Egypt were all evacuated and immediately we got to the airport, MTN gave us SIM cards with 1.5GB and a bonus of N25,000 on calls. Also, the government gave us food.
When your parents got to know about the issues in Sudan, what was their response?
They told me to be calm and that they were praying for us.
How did you feel when you eventually arrived in Nigeria?
I felt very happy. I was happier as the president (of NANS in Sudan) to see that all Nigerian students had been evacuated. There is a Nigerian community there but you can’t tell that the residents are all Nigerians because of how long some have been in Sudan unless they show their passport or national identity card. In Sudan, there are more Hausa.
It was reported that each evacuee was to be given a sum of N100,000. Have you gotten that or have some started getting it?
Yes, we got it in cash and it wasn’t from the Nigerian Government. It was (from) the Dangote Foundation and each Nigerian that was evacuated got N100,000. I received it in cash at the airport and it was so for everybody.
You noted that you were already in your final year before the war began. Do you plan to return to Sudan when normalcy is restored or will you continue your education in Nigeria?
I cannot wait for Sudan because we don’t know when the crisis will be over. If we have the opportunity, we are definitely going to move further, maybe to another country or Nigeria. So, we cannot wait.
Is there a possibility that you can continue here in Nigeria?
Yes, why not?
Do you have access to your academic transcript?
For now, it’s not possible (to get it), except the Nigerian government will provide a way out by discussing it with the Sudanese embassy in Nigeria. Some of the universities in Sudan have even started their plan. They are planning to have a collaboration with some of the universities in Nigeria so that some of their students can continue their studies before the crisis ends. I’m already in my final year. I had just six to seven months to graduate before the crisis began, so, I don’t think returning to Sudan will be the best.
It was said that the Egyptian embassy was making offers to Nigerians to come to Egypt. Is that true?
Yes. It is coming from the agents. You know those agents are trying to do their business, calling the attention of parents to transfer to Egypt but as for me, it’s not an option, because some of our students had suffered (at the Egyptian border). That’s my reason. After our students suffered (at the Egyptian border), you are now trying to transfer our students to Egypt? How? For me and for that reason, it’s not an option and that’s my perspective.
There were concerns during the evacuation process that preference was given to the northerners. How true was that?
No, that’s a lie. The reason I said that is because the percentage of northerners in Sudan is higher, so, you are likely going to see more of them. There was a flight that had only Yoruba students. I know because there was no flight that left Sudan (for Nigeria) without my awareness. We are the union, so we and the embassy organised the bus that took them (southerners) from the hostel to the airport.
Some (of the evacuees) were not students and some families had more than three children. There was no way such a family would expect all their members to be evacuated at once, knowing that there are many other people on the ground. That was part of the problem. My main focus was on the students. As I said, there is a Nigerian community there. There are many Hausa in Sudan, so, you cannot say that all have been evacuated but the embassy can answer that better. I only know about the students.
