By Bimbola Oyesola, [email protected]
As the ongoing war in Sudan creates more havoc, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded immediate evacuation of Nigerians in the country, warning the Federal Government that Nigerians must not be allowed to die in Sudan because of negligence.
NLC president, Joe Ajaero, at the weekend, stated that no effort should be spared in ensuring the safety and evacuation of Nigerians residing in Sudan to Nigeria, if the conflict persists and escalates into a full-blown war.
“It remains the duty of the government and we urge the federal government to make this happen, unless they want to tell us that these lives are not as important as the lives of the children of those in authority and do not deserve to be protected,” Ajaero said.
He added, “As we await a quick and positive action towards evacuating our citizens, we would want measures to be put in place to make their lives comfortable on arrival, especially for those who own businesses in the Sudan and have suffered loss of businesses as a result. It does not make sense bringing them home without putting in place proper platforms to take care of their needs here.”
The NLC president said labour has watched with increasing alarm and despair the unfolding tragedy in Sudan as a result of the ongoing violence in that country between two major factions of the military, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo and the Sudanese Army commanded by General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, which has led to human carnage and destruction of properties.
“At this point, we are not specially concerned about the history and immediate causes of the war, but are worried because many Nigerians have become unwitting victims of the war and are stranded in that country and unable to get out.
“They have cried out for help to escape the horrors, which the war has continued to mete out to persons still trapped in Sudan,” he said.
Ajaero said the NLC is worried that, since the war broke out towards the end of last week, reports on the number of casualties are horrendous and frightening, thus leaving every patriot anxious about the safety of Nigerians in that country, especially students.
The NLC president said labour believes that it remains the responsibility of any government to ensure the safety of their nationals, which includes making sure that, in the event of a war in foreign countries, their citizens are protected in whatever way possible.
“This is one of the central reasons of governance: the safety of lives and properties,” he said.
He noted that while labour commiserates with the people and workers of Sudan and calls for an immediate ceasefire to allow for a peaceful resolution of the issues in dispute that led to the crisis, NLC could not comprehend why the federal government of Nigeria finds it difficult to guarantee the safety of the lives of its citizens in that country “beyond the tokenism effort at protection through an advisory to all Nigerians in that country to either seek refuge in our embassy in Khartoum or stay indoors, which they believe is safer.”
Said Ajaero, “The excuse that attempting to evacuate our nationals through the airport is risky begs the question and is unacceptable. We do not understand whether other possible options at evacuating our citizens have been explored before relapsing to this seeming helplessness and apparent abandonment of our citizens who are obviously in great distress and are afraid for their lives on daily basis.
“It is trite diplomacy that, in such a situation, serious governments will reach an understanding with the warring parties for the removal of their nationals from the theatre of war, which drastically reduces the risk of loss of lives and that of the equipment used in such operations. If the airports are not safe as suggested by government, can we not work out a safe corridor to neighbouring countries to allow our citizens safe passage and evacuate through the various land borders?”
The congress boss also suggested that the government could work out an arrangement with the international community to create a safe haven for all foreign nationals in the country to serve as a buffer to all foreign nationals against the vagaries of the war while peace efforts are being made or other safer methods of evacuation are developed.
“Our concern is that, while our government resorts to the usual lethargy and excuses, our nationals in Sudan already exposed to serious danger may begin to experience losses or injuries.
“We urge the federal government through the concerned agencies and ministries to take urgent step to avoid death and injuries to our citizens in that country,” he said.