Parents Seek Tinubu’s Help for Nigerian Scholars in Russia

Amidst the growing frustration of Nigerian scholars in Russia, some of their parents at the weekend appealed to President Bola Tinubu to wade into the circumstances responsible for the delay in the payment of the monthly allowance running to nine months to the students in various cities in Russia.

The scholars are under the Bilateral Education Agreement, which is being run by the Federal Scholarship Board (FDB).

The students are entitled to a monthly allowance from the Nigerian and Russian governments. While the host country is meeting its obligations which cover tuition and accommodation, allowance from the Nigerian government which is meant to cover feeding and other upkeeps have not been paid since June 2023.

Speaking to our correspondent, a source at the Nigerian Scholarship Board, who volunteered information on the condition of anonymity disclosed that the payment of the eight-month allowance had been prepared and forwarded to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)which is the last stage for disbursement.

“The payment is being worked upon, but it is being affected by bureaucracy due to some management changes and the depreciation of the naira value which warrants a make-up through supplementary budget,” the source said.

However, when our correspondent reached out to the spokesperson for the apex bank, Hakama Sidi Ali, on February 24 for confirmation, she promised to reach out and revert. All correspondences afterward were ignored, while a call put across to her yesterday was aborted.

A spokesperson for the parents group, Mr. Kola Benson said since last year June when the students were paid their allowance, they have not been paid since then and that most of the parents have to beg relatives for them to send small financial support to their wards.

In their safe-our-souls appeal to the President, the parents lamented that the students are being distracted by lack of money and that the current economic challenges in Nigeria are frustrating their efforts to stand in the gap while the payment of allowance is being awaited.

“The poor economic situation in Nigeria is making it difficult for many of the parents to do anything meaningful and the children are frustrated. 

“We are begging President Bola Tinibu to bail us out so that the children would not be pushed by hunger to do what they are not supposed to do since their families are not in Russia,” a spokesperson for the parents said.

There are currently, over 2,500 Nigerian students studying across the many universities in Russia, particularly in cities like Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan, Belgorod, Rostov, Voronezh, Kursk, and Samara.