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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Cyprus International University has evicted no fewer than 91 students from Zamfara State who are on state-sponsored scholarship in the university.
The school said the evicted students have not paid their tuition and other fees as agreed with the state government when the agreement for scholarship was signed some years ago.
Some of the students, who spoke to BBC Hausa Service, yesterday, said they were faced with hunger, starvation and threat of arrest, in addition to the fact that their resident permits have expired and they could be picked up any time by the police for being in the country illegally.
One of the students, who pleaded anonymity, said: “We started having problem with the university and the Zamfara State government since our first year in school but we thought it could be resolved without raising voices. When the Zamfara government sent us here (Cyprus), they had agreements with the university. But from all indications, all or part of the agreements were obviously not fulfilled, hence the negative reaction of the school.
“For example, when we were coming here (Cyprus), they told us our school fees have been paid for few years. We were also told we would be paid allowances of $100. 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 and the situation has got worse. It has got to the point that the school said they won’t tolerate us again, and had to sent us out and also evicted us out of hostel. At the moment, we are homeless, devastated and don’t know what to do.
“We don’t have food neither 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/unsafe places. We don’t know where some of the students are now, but I believe many of them have found their ways of survival. This is our second month of being in this inhumane condition here.”
He said they have reached out to Zamfara State government through several platforms to find a solution to the problem, but they have either failed to act or not acting as fast as expected.
A female student, who also pleaded anonymity, confirmed they were in a bad condition that requires urgent attention of the Zamfara government.
She said: “We are 10 female students staying in one corner of where we found ourselves. The worst of the situation is that we are faced with 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 in 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.”
When contacted, Zamfara State government confirmed it was aware of the situation and working to resolve the challenges.
Commissioner for Information, Zamfara State, Ibrahim Dosara told BBC Hausa Service that part of the funds being owed the university and the students were paid recently.
“We are working to make the balance payment as quickly as possible. Besides, the state government has an agreement with the Cyprus university that the remaining part of the money will be paid as soon as possible.
“Also, these students should know from the day one that some challenges might be witnessed while studying abroad but that does not mean we have abandoned them,” he said.
He promised that in coming weeks, the balance of payment would be sent to the school so the students can continue their studies.
