Wisdom Eji says he and his fellow Nigerians, here on scholarships for underprivileged students, have been left to fend for themselves after the government-funded program that brought them to Canada has failed to pay.

"We have been abandoned," said Eji, a University of Regina (U of R) engineering student. "We live right now like we don't have sponsors."

'Like things get bad — I just wish I didn't even come here. I just wish I was at home.'
- Wisdom Eji, RSSDA-sponsored University of Regina engineering student

Across Canada, 246 Nigerian students, in 14 universities were promised their tuition and living expenses would be covered during their four-year degree program.

However, they haven't received their living allowance for the past 11 months and their tuition is millions of dollars in arrears.

"You just wish you didn't even have the scholarship in the first place," Eji said. "Like things get bad — I just wish I didn't even come here. I just wish I was at home."

Government agency owes millions

Wisdom Eji university of Regina
Eji says he's behind on his rent and other bills, is often hungry, stressed and sleepless. As a result, he says, his marks have dropped 15-20 percentage points. (CBC)

Eji is one of 40-50 students enrolled at the U of R under a scholarship paid for by the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA); an organization owned and funded by the Rivers State government in Nigeria.

The organization sponsors hundreds of poor but academically gifted students to study at universities in 14 countries, including Canada.

The students were promised tuition and a living allowance of $1,100 a month to cover their rent, food and other expenses.

"Before we left Nigeria they are like, 'Don't even work,'" Eji recalled. "''We'll give you everything you need.'"

The RSSDA owes Canadian students about $3 million in living allowance, forcing many like Eji to find jobs. He is working part-time while continuing his full-time studies.

He said he's behind on his rent and other bills, is often hungry, stressed and sleepless. He said as a result his marks have dropped 15-20 percentage points.

Canadian universities owed millions

In addition to what it owes in living allowances, the RSSDA admits it also owes $2.5 million in tuition to 14 Canadian universities. More than half of that, $1.3 million, is owed to the U of R for the 2014/15 academic year, during which 124 RSSDA sponsored students studied at the institution.

Vanessa Ikeogu, an RSSDA student who's studying criminology at the U of R, said she's angered by the behaviour of her government and sponsoring agency.

"Ignorant, reluctant, irresponsible government officials," Ikeogu said. "I just feel like I have been lied to."


Unpaid tuition creating stress

The RSSDA owes more than $250,000 to the University of Manitoba (U of M) and that institution appears to be taking a harder line.

Gift Amadi is sponsored by the agency to pursue a political science degree at the U of M, but his tuition bill is past due, and the university is asking him to pay.

Gift Amadi
Gift Ahmadi, a political science student at the University of Manitoba, says the Nigerian scholarship agency that sent him to Canada is failing to keep its promises. (Facebook)

"The school is saying you have just about 30 days left to pay what's left for this term," Amadi said. "If not I won't be able to register for the winter term."

He said the lack of scholarship funding has been "very devastating."

"Right now I'm taking classes and I'm thinking of feeding. I haven't eaten since morning and I'm in class," Amadi told CBC's iTeam, when reached in the evening at the U of M.

The associate VP of Outreach and Engagement at the U of M, Leah Janzen, said she's sympathetic.

"I know some of them have accessed our student food bank," Janzen explained. "It's a very difficult situation."

Payment plans

She said the university is working with the students to develop payment plans and find other funding.

Some RSSDA students have paid their own tuition, borrowing money from friends, family or churches. But for others, time is clearly running out.

For about a dozen students, tuition hasn't been paid for the summer or fall term, putting their stay at the university in jeopardy.

If an international student on a visa is no longer registered at an educational institution, they aren't able to stay in Canada, according to immigration rules.

Recently, 19 RSSDA-sponsored students had to flee the U.K. in order to avoid deportation from that country because their tuition had not been paid by the agency.

Many students in Canada worry they may end up in the same situation.

"Terrified — because you don't know if you're the next," Eji said. "I can't get that money, so if I don't have that money the only option is going back to Nigeria."

Students take action

Amadi says ongoing political instability in Nigeria has made it easy for politicians there to ignore this problem, so he and the other students have decided to take action.

They've formed a committee to mobilize friends, family and the media to pressure the Nigerian government.

He said students are worried they may face retaliation by speaking out about this issue, but added his political science studies have taught him that sometimes it's necessary to take calculated risks.

"It may not be convenient, it may not be comfortable for you, but someone has got to stand to say 'OK, this is the right thing and we can do it if we stand for what is right and we speak up about it.'"

He said it's ironic that his government sent him to Canada on a scholarship to study political science, the knowledge he's now using to pressure that same government to keep its word.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/cash-strapped-u-of-r-students-abandoned-by-nigerian-scholarship-program-1.3326199

All is well
[size=19pt]Mrnas say so [/size]

Irresponsible government here and there. Funny how we survived this long.

Change is here.

GEJ tried to warn y'all!

Gombs:
Change is here.

GEJ tried to warn y'all!

Fool! Wasn't it GEJ that imposed a cretin as Rivers State governor. This is a direct indictment on Governor Wike!

abdulrazat:
Irresponsible government here and there. Funny how do we survived this long?

if you ask me bro, na who i go ask?


the zoo keepers?

Gombs:
Change is here.

GEJ tried to warn y'all!

Did you actually read the part where they pointed out that they were being sponsored by the Rivers state goverment.

Mtcccccchhhhhhheeeeeeewwwwwwww..........






Kids are suffering in UI, OaU, LAutech, you are there saying iranu.
My friend, better start hustling!!!

U ar on a Long thn.....

Gombs:
Change is here.

GEJ tried to warn y'all!

You probably didn't read the article!!!!

Folks who gain admission into Nigerian universities via Jamb enjoy more goodies. I beeseech thee to return home. We have greener pastures here.

11months owed by rssda in Canada alone. we never hear of the one for uk and other countries oh. I wonder wat Ameachi did with Rivers allocation.

So, it was initially Amaechi's project... Lol... Mr Transporter has forgotten about all of you oversees..

Workers hardly get their salaries and most agencies are cutting down their staffs and expensive just to make the few surviving civil servants to survive and you're out there demanding...

Seems the word HUSTLING isn't in your lexicon.

The bitter truth is that they should look for alternative means of sustaining themselves.