About 150 stranded Nigerian teachers in Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire and Liberia have reportedly started escaping into Nigeria, following the refusal of the Federal Government to evacuate them because of the Ebola scourge.
But those who escaped from Ebola infected towns and villages, have not gone for any Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) test in any hospital.
The development has created panic following the success achieved at containing the virus in the country. Investigation confirmed that the 150 teachers were sent to Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia, and other countries in West Africa under the Nigerian Technical Aids Corps Programme, which is coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The affected teachers are specialists in Mathematics, English and the sciences, and they are expected to spend two years in their countries of deployment.
According to a source, most of the participants in the 2012-2014 set had not been able to return on account of the Ebola scourge since mid-October, when their programme ended.
The source added that the stranded teachers were scheduled to return to Nigeria between October 15 and 17.
The highly-placed source said: “Today, no airlines ply the Freetown-Lagos routes and the teachers and science specialists, under the Federal Government programme, seem abandoned at the Ebola-ridden countries.
“These teachers had sent several distress signals to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for special flight shuttles to evacuate them, but their pleas fell on deaf ears”.
The source added: “Some of these teachers have resorted to self-help by escaping from the Ebola infested communities through Ghana, Tunisia, and Morocco to return to Nigeria.
“Those who came back just reunited with their relations without undergoing any medical test or being quarantined. You can see how we can be flippant in this country. We seem to have been carried away by the clean bill of health given to us by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“But a sizeable number of the teachers are still stranded in their host countries. The government should save this nation from a fresh Ebola infection by evacuating these TAC teachers”.
One of the participants in the programme, who spoke desperately on the telephone, said: “Some of our colleagues travelled to Nigeria about nine months ago. Then Ebola broke out and started killing people. They are stranded in Nigeria. They still have their property here. Some of them have money in banks.
“We are also stranded too. We cannot move out. As I speak to you, I can’t go to the market. I just manage to send people to buy food stuff for me in the market to cook.
“In fairness to Nigerian embassy officials, they talk to us once in a while; they advised us to keep a low profile, be careful where we go and be healthy. But they keep on telling us that they are still expecting orders from the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Nigeria”.
The participant added: “One of the embassy officials told us that now that Dr. Pius Olasanmi is now the head of the Technical Aids Corps Directorate, we will be transported back to Nigeria. But we have not heard or seen anything concrete. We are still waiting.
“But we are now orphans in West African countries; stranded, isolated and lonely. We don t know whether it is a curse to serve your country. But that is what we are feeling now. We feel abandoned by Nigeria, our country. We feel abandoned by President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Please help us tell President Jonathan to send planes to West African countries to evacuate us. We are tired of living in these Ebola countries.
“Some of us live in areas that are two, five or eight hours to the capitals of these countries.
“One of our colleagues called from Sierra Leone to say that markets are just reopening and that schools closed since August till further notice.
“An ambassador in one of the countries invited some of our colleagues and told us that we might be evacuated before November 20. But we are not sure how this is going to work out. It appears as if they want to give us money, so we come to Nigeria by road, with all the risk of contracting Ebola along the way on our trip home”.
“Why can’t President Jonathan direct that a plane be chartered to stop at all the capitals to transport us and then Nigerian medical workers can do further medical test on us before we re-enter the country?
“Are our lives worthless that government cannot charter a plane to transport us from all West African countries?” the participant queried
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Pathetic.
ReplyDeletePlease it's time to break protocol and act. The lives of these compatriots are precious.
When Chidi Mokeme said "shoot on sight" for escaped Ebola patients, Nigerians wanted to have his head on a pole.
ReplyDeleteOya ooo!
Plus my hand sanitizer don finish sef...
Yes! If u don't know its high time u knew that its a curse serving this country except serving politically. Once u have a talent exploit it on ur own or sell it to other countries that values human life.
ReplyDelete