Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Nigerians studying in Wuhan, China, have disclosed that the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing, has no plan to evacuate the almost 50 students stranded in the area currently battling Coronavirus.
A Daily Sun source in Wuhan who spoke on condition of anonymity, said as a result of the outbreak of Coronavirus, their schools directed that students could leave for their respective countries.
The student said schools insisted that it was only through the embassies of their various countries that they could be evacuated, adding that classmates and friends were already leaving Wuhan.
The student claimed though the Nigerian Embassy had been in touch, the embassy had not shown signs of any plan to evacuate them.
“Our schools insist that we can leave only through our embassies. I can see my classmates and friends leaving. Although the Nigerian Embassy has been in touch with Nigerians in Wuhan, they don’t have a plan to evacuate us.
“So, we are not just scared, loneliness is beginning to set in, that is aside surviving on only instant noodles as we don’t want to leave our rooms. We keep waiting and praying.”
The student told Daily Sun that they have a group where they have been getting in touch with the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing.
Daily Sun source gathered the students have no issue being quarantined in Nigeria before reuniting with their families.
A message posted on the group’s WeChat platform named ‘Wuhan 2020,’ showed one of the students who lived with his family in Wuhan, appealing to the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing for evacuation.
“Now that it has been proven that some countries have evacuated or in the process of evacuation of their citizens from the epicentre, with due respect Sir, what are you going to tell us again?
“No one, including you Sir, to be specific, is experiencing the trauma, fear and terror we are into here in Wuhan. It is something words cannot quantify and voice it out,” the student said.
In the chat, the student also said Embassy official had told them that no country had evacuated its citizens, saying the Nigerian Mission would have done the same thing.