AUN woos returnee Nigerian students from Ukraine
Nigeria-Ukraine/March 08, 2022/Qosim Suleiman/Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/
The evacuation of Nigerians from Ukraine followed a series of campaigns on social media by many individuals and organisations including PREMIUM TIMES.
The management of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, has congratulated Nigerian students who recently returned from Europe following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
This is as the university has invited them to consider enrolling at the institution, saying rather than flying abroad for university education, AUN would meet their desires.
This was contained in a statement by AUN’s executive director of communications, Daniel Okereke, a copy of which was obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.
The statement read in part: “Having fled the war in Europe to safely rejoin your families and loved ones under these traumatic circumstances must certainly have been a frightening time for you all. Like all of Nigeria, we rejoice that you have been able to return safe and sound.
“Your education has been violently and unexpectedly interrupted by international events beyond your control. Wondering what you should do next, we have one option for you to consider.
“If you desire to continue your education and research while you are back home here in Nigeria, you will find that AUN—a safe, diverse, cosmopolitan and well-resourced university, with an excellent digital library, organised on the US model of higher education—may meet your immediate needs.
“Here we have students from every state in Nigeria, and from other African countries as well as the US, UK and Canada. They come to us for our excellent high-tech infrastructure, our high standards, and our sense of community. We invite you to take a virtual tour on our YouTube channel and to see if our programmes will fit your educational and career needs.
Russia-Ukraine war
The Russian-Ukrainian war started on February 24 when Russian President, Vladimir Putin, said he was carrying out a ‘special military operation’ in the region.
The Nigerian government had also commenced airlifting back home the country’s citizens stranded in Ukraine.
The evacuation followed a series of campaigns on social media by many individuals and organisations including PREMIUM TIMES.
This newspaper had launched a series of dialogue sessions to advance conversations around the issues of safety and evacuation of stranded Nigerians, and featured relevant officials of the government.
The government was later said to have approved $8.5 million for the evacuation of estimated 5,000 stranded Nigerians.
Since then, the United Nations said over one million people have fled Ukraine, warning that “at this rate” the exodus could become “the biggest refugee crisis this century.”
Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
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