‘No way out,’ Say Nigerian Students Caught Up In Russia’s Invasion

‘No way out,’ Say Nigerian Students Caught Up In Russia’s Invasion

Lolade Lawal’s life has been flipped completely upside down in ways she could never have predicted.

The ramifications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began last week, are beginning to hit a Nigerian third-year medical student.

“It is scary, very scary. I’m very worried. People are running for their lives. We are hiding in groups so we can keep an eye on each other,” Lawal told Al Jazeera over the phone as she sheltered with other students at a safe bunker in the northeastern city of Sumy.

Read More: Amid’s Russia’s Invasion, Ukraine’s President Zelensky Rejected US Offer

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a “special military operation” against Ukraine. Following the invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law and declared that his country would defend itself.

Fighting reached the streets of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, on Saturday as Russian soldiers advanced.

Russia already has at least half of its projected 150,000-strong invading forces in Ukraine, according to the US military.

More than 200 civilians have been killed in the fighting so far, including three children. According to Ukraine’s health ministry, about 1,100 people have been injured in the battle, including 33 children.

Since the violence began, the UN estimates that over 100,000 people have been displaced within the country.

“There’s no escape. Trains have stopped working. Most supermarkets are closed and those that are opened are running very low on food stocks. ATMs are not working and everyone is desperately looking for money,” Lawal said, as sirens went off in the background.

There are no official figures on the number of African students currently studying in Ukraine but Lawal said “there are hundreds of us in our city”.

“At my university, there are about 100 Nigerian students. I’m sheltering with some of them,” Lawal added.

Some students have managed to cross the border into Poland.

“I live in Kyiv. I have been living here since March last year,” Somto Orah, a student at State University of Telecommunications in Kyiv, told Al Jazeera.

“We have received no support from any government authorities. The school only gave us bomb shelter to hide when the air raid siren is on. The sirens came on and off for about five times yesterday before I left,” Orah, a Nigerian national, added.

“There is little food. I couldn’t access cash for two days now. Every ATM on the road has no cash.

Read More: Amid’s Russia’s Invasion, Ukraine’s President Zelensky Rejected US Offer

Others have fared far worse.

After the shelling and sirens became too much for Samuel George, a first-year software engineering student, he escaped Kyiv.

“I drove from Kyiv. We are trying to survive. We don’t want to die in a foreign country,” George said.

As he neared the Polish border, Samuel’s luck ran out. He said he had a minor road accident with a vehicle carrying Ukrainians because the road was narrow.

He said they took his money and stopped him from driving any further.

“They are not officials, police or military. They are normal citizens who stopped us Africans from driving to the border. They let Ukrainians pass through but not us,” George said.

“I’m now walking to the border. I have no other option. I don’t know how much further the border is. They even took our money. It is like they are not human beings,” George said, adding that he could no longer talk on the phone because his hands were freezing in the sub-zero temperature.

On Saturday, the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs said more than 115,000 people had crossed into Poland from Ukraine, adding that everyone from Ukraine was allowed to enter, even those without a valid passport.

But for Somto and several other students, crossing the border into Poland has not been easy.

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“I will be heading to Nigeria from Poland if I’m able to cross. But if I see a school offer around Schengen, I will take it up because I don’t want my school life to be disrupted,” he said as he joined the queue at the border gate.