The Federal Government of Nigeria owes more than 600 Nigerian scholars studying in China, Russia, Algeria and a few other countries on the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) stipends for 12 consecutive months.

These students shared with FIJ how they have endured very unfavourable living conditions. Some of them now risk being arrested in China if they don’t leave the country in July.

The BEA is one of the scholarship arrangements. It is a dedicated department under the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB) along with Nigerian Awards, Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan, and General Duties.

BEA allows Nigerian scholars to study and do research work for an academic degree from specific institutions in a group of select countries. These countries host Nigerian scholars for a couple of years until they get their degrees.

In May, the Union of Nigerian Bilateral Education Agreement Scholars (UNBEAS) released a press statement to announce that it had been 11 months since students last received their monthly stipend.

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CHINA MAY ARREST SCHOLARS WHO CANNOT RETURN TO NIGERIA IN JULY

The Chinese authorities may arrest Nigerian scholars who are not able to return to Nigeria when due. Some of them are due to return by the first week of next month.

Ibrahim Bature, a Nigerian animal scientist and PhD scholar, spoke with FIJ from Guangzhou, China.

“Actually, there is no progress,” Bature said when FIJ asked about the owed monthly stipends on Thursday.

“You know, before, I used to tell everyone that our people were not stranded. But no, actually, we are stranded. People graduated this June and, when you graduate, when you graduate from a university here in China, you must leave within two weeks.”

Bature said that some of the scholars are already considering fundraising online because most of them don’t have money to buy flight tickets to go back to Nigeria.

It does not matter how; they must leave China in a matter of days because of the impending visa expiration.

“…and you know what visa violation may result in, especially in a country that upholds law and order like China. If you do any visa violation, it will bring a heavy penalty. So, our people must leave between now and the first week of July,” Bature added.

“I’m telling you, so many people will be in so much trouble. The ticket is $700, $800 to $1000. That’s for the one-way ticket. So, if we are not able to get our money, honestly, we don’t know what he will do, because I was even thinking about asking the embassy here if they could give students loans.

“We are trying to manage, and it’s really bad, but I must lay emphasis on the graduates. They have to go back home. And if you fail their [visa validity] deadline, these people will arrest you.”

According to Bature, there are 39 Nigerian BEA scholars in China. They did not receive their stipend in September, October, November and December last year. There has been no stipend for them this year either.

The Nigerian BEA scholars in China are postgraduate students who arrived in the country around 2022. They couldn’t travel to China before then due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

These scholars are in China on a study visa, so they cannot work. All transactions are cashless and monitored. This means scholars rely on support funds and their stipend on a monthly basis.

“The money is sent from the FSB through the Central Bank of Nigeria to the embassies. And the embassies, they have our account. We open dollar accounts here in China. The role of the embassy is just to distribute to us,” Bature explained.

“This is the first time we’ve experienced this type of delay. The FSB sent a natural apology to all scholars. I received the one on behalf of the Chinese scholars, actually. I think It says ‘We are working to pay you’, but there is no specific date.

“If we have a date, for those who can take loans, you know exactly when you are expecting money to pay back.”

COST OF LIVING CRISIS

In Russia, Nigeria’s BEA scholars are struggling for months without a stipend amid increased costs of living due to economic sanctions from the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Jeffrey Alabi doubles as a scholar and president of the Association of Nigerian Scholarship Students in Russia (ANSSIR). He has been studying there since 2021.

Alabi made it clear from the start of our conversation that there are so many Nigerian students waiting on the federal government.

There are some newer scholars in their midst. Alabi said that they are not owed up to 12 months of their stipends like those who have been around for a longer period.

“We are more than 550 scholarship students in Russia waiting. Our money comes at once. If one person is not paid, everyone else is not paid,” Alabi told FIJ on Wednesday.

“To be frank, there’s actually not much progress so far; it’s the same thing they’ve [Nigeria’s federal government] been saying since that they will start processing the payment when they commence the implementation of the capital expenditure. So, I don’t know. They said it’s probably going to be this month, which I’m not sure; I don’t know. Anything can happen.

“I know it’s actually like a lot of stress on the FSB because the director has probably been going from office to office to make inquiries as to what happened. What can be done again? So it’s still the same thing. We will still have to wait for them because they said the money is there but it’s under capital expenditure. It will be out when they start implementation.”

Alabi confirmed that the scholars in Russia get their stipends in dollars. They can then convert it to Russian rubles.

The stipend is $500 for each scholar every month.

FIJ learned that Nigerian scholars in Russia often have to rely on their family members to afford food, transportation and shelter. Those who come from broken homes or poor families have to find whatever means to pay their bills because government stipends are not coming in.

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“I am not currently in Moscow, but I school in Moscow. The major challenge for scholars like me is the transportation cost. The school’s faculties are far apart; there is always a distance to cover. I have to pay twice each time because I will take the bus and the underground metro,” Alabi told FIJ.

“Some schools allow scholars to borrow books for a while, but not all institutions do that. Study materials will always come at a cost for some of the students. Some of the lecturers may insist on the books you must get. You have to buy them.

“Food is not hard to find here; we are managing with feeding and can cook occasionally. At some point, without support, it becomes difficult because food is not as cheap as it used to be. As a result of the war in Ukraine, the prices of food coming in have increased.

“The universities here don’t bill us the way they bill other students because we are on scholarship. They lessen the price, but it is still a burden that we have to pay every month. The cost varies from one institution to another. In my school, I have friends staying in hostels at $100.”

The students studying in cities that are not large pay less for transportation and accommodation compared to others studying in St Petersburg or Moscow. Alabi said that those scholars staying in towns cannot find work that suits them. They also can’t apply for full-time jobs because they are in Russia on study visas.

Alabi told FIJ that the federal government can identify and eliminate the sort of bureaucracy that allowed such a payment delay to occur. It was the first time he experienced a stipend delay as bad as this, he said.

HOMELESS SCHOLARS ARE HUNGRY IN ALGERIA

FIJ also spoke with one of the scholars in Algeria, who said that fellow Nigerian students are in debt, hungry and squatting in hotels.

Amina Yusuf (not real name) said that the students have accrued debts since many of them could only borrow money to get by in the last 12 months.

The visa offer is the same in Algeria as it is in Venezuela, Russia, Hungary, China and other BEA countries. They cannot apply for jobs to feed themselves.

“We are around 55 [Nigerian] scholars in Algeria. Twelve months now. It’s all over; all Nigerian students under the bilateral education agreement are paid at the same time, Russia, Hungary Morocco, anywhere, Algeria. So, [it will] literally be at the same time,” Yusuf explained on Thursday.

“The same amount of months that the students in Russia have not been paid is the same amount of months for students all over. Well, the payments come at the same time, literally just like the payment leaves Nigeria.

“The time of payment varies because of the embassy and everything. A lot of people don’t even have the money to stay on campus or in hostels. They’ve been chased. So, we are squatting in a hostel. There has not been payment. The last time they paid, the money was incomplete.”

Yusuf told FIJ that life is especially harsh for them in Algeria and some of them have begun to beg.

She noted that some of the scholars are in their final year and are under more pressure as they have to work on projects and finalise their research.

FIJ asked what Nigerian scholars in Algeria think about making the stipend situation better.

“I came here in 2019, and since I came, I’ve never encountered this problem. This is the first time they have done this. The only suggestion – because normally we are meant to be paid monthly, which is never done – I think the only suggestion is for FG to keep on paying us the way they used to, in batches,” Yusuf said.

“They don’t pay monthly, but then they’ll pay maybe twice or thrice in a year. They divide the payment three times or every quarter. The solution has to address the place of the stipend fund in the budget; it has to go. There are so many processes, and implementation could be a problem again. When payments are made, they should start processing for the next payment so there are no delays.”

Nigerian BEA scholars in Algeria have a roof over their heads, thanks to the kindness of friends and the patience of homeowners. Yusuf fears the patience of their hosts could break after being stretched thin for 12 long months.

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OTHERS ENDURE LIFE IN MOROCCO, HUNGARY AND TROUBLED VENEZUELA

This reporter tried to establish contact with Nigerian BEA scholars in Hungary, Venezuela and Morocco.

A UNBEAS statement shows that they share similar challenges in Venezuela and Morocco.

“Some students in China have not received any stipends since they arrived in April and May 2023. In Russia, students are struggling with increased cost of living due to sanctions. With the crisis in Venezuela, the scholars live through double trouble,” UNBEAS shared.

“In places like Morocco, there’s no adequate provision for accommodation. It means that there are no student hostels, and students are forced to take apartments and pay rent on a monthly basis. It also means that they’ll have to pay for transportation to school, pay electricity and water bills, pay internet, not forgetting that there are food and school expenses to settle as well as other personal amenities.”

According to the US Institute of Peace, Venezuela is “in the midst of an unprecedented social and humanitarian collapse”. The country suffers from regional instability and a food insecurity crisis.

The economic downturn in a foreign nation is sure to leave a Nigerian scholar stranded for several months without stipends.

FIJ found no way to reach the FSB for comments.

This reporter sent emails to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) on Thursday. Their responses had not arrived at press time.