Respite may have come to the 93 Cyprus International University students from Zamfara who were sent out of school and ejected from their hostels because of the failure of the state government to settle their tuition and other fees.
The students were sponsored by the state government to study various courses in Cyprus, but have since been kicked out to the street, with some of them now engaged in construction and other jobs to survive.
One of the students who pleaded anonymity said, “We started having the problem between the school and the Zamfara state government since our first year in school but we thought it could be resolved without raising our voices.
“When the Zamfara state government sent us here, they had agreements with school. But from all indications, those or part of the agreements were obviously not fulfilled, hence the negative reaction of the school.
“For example, when we were coming here, they told us that our school fees have been paid for a few years. We were also told that we would be paid allowances of 100 dollars. But when we came initially, they gave us some money but not up to $100 as promised, and that was the beginning of the problem.
“This is our third year in this country and the situation has gotten worst. It has gotten to the point that the school said they won’t tolerate us again, and had to send us out of school and also evicted us out of the hostel. At the moment, we are homeless, devastated and don’t know what to do.
“We don’t have food nor do we have befitting shelter because the school has chased us out of the hostel. Many of us have resorted to sleeping in Mosques and other unhealthy and unsafe places. We don’t know where some of the students are now, but I believe that many of them have found their ways of survival. This is our second month of being in this inhumane condition here.”
One of the 10 female students said their worst situation now “is the arrest threat from the Cyprus Police and other law enforcement agencies because we have not paid for our resident permit for three years now. So, we are under serious threat. We don’t even go out now to avoid being picked up by the police which could result in possible imprisonment that might last for years.”
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, Zamfara Commissioner for Information, Mallam Wadatau Madawaki, said the state government was working with the Nigerian embassy in Cyprus to protect the students as it explores options to settle outstanding payments.
“The previous administration left these students at the mercy of the university, which took advantage of the poor arrangement,” Madawaki said, adding that significant steps have been taken to alleviate the students’ plight.
According to him, following a meeting with the university officials, Zamfara State government has initiated payments to cover the outstanding tuition and accommodation fees.
However, the last time the government paid anything to the university was a year ago, on November 13, 2023, when it released N84.7 million to the university as part of the tuition fees.
“Additionally, N30.9 million was provided to student leaders to cover accommodation costs for the next three to six months,” Madawaki stated.
The commissioner said that the state government was aware that the university had placed the students under deportation, but added that “the Nigerian embassy is currently addressing this situation with the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs”.
He assured that the government is working diligently to settle outstanding fees for accommodation and feeding, and renew the students’ expired passports and residency permits.
