Moderator please take to front Page. Nigerians should hear this!

Puzzling is the fact that Nigerian government continuously call for re-branding of Nigeria yet kept tainting itself with tar of irresponsibility. It is now a trend for the Federal Government of Nigeria to award scholarships to qualified indigent Nigerian students and later abandon them to the mercy of their luck, especially in foreign lands.

Annually, Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) is signed between Nigeria and some countries of the world (some of whose educational standard is not any better than Nigeria's, that notwithstanding). The Federal Scholarship Board under the Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja, conducts a nationwide screening of candidates. At the mercy of all the risks and financial hardships involved, gullible youths whose parents sometimes cannot even afford a three square meal a day, travel across the length and breadth of Nigeria to either attend for this screening or for the submission of accompanying document(s) and sometimes even for further interactions needed by the Federal Scholarship Board or by the awarding countries. After all said and done the successful candidates are flown to their respective awarding countries.

Now, the heartbreaking situation is that while the donor countries keep up with their side of the agreement, providing these poor beneficiaries with Accommodation and Free Tuition, Nigerian government has continuously and shamefully displayed its indifference in complementing their own part of the bargain for these scholars. Nigeria is supposed to see to the provision of monthly upkeep allowances for books, feeding, clothing, medicals, research etc, to these scholars. The uninterrupted negligence on the part of Nigerian government has as a result exposed these youths to various dehumanizing activities like prostitution, stealing and associated crimes, all in the quest to make ends meet. For many others, hustling in the way of doing petty illegal jobs like cleaning of public toilets, snow clearing, club dancing jobs etc. has become their only means of livelihood. The untold consequence is that these scholars experience dramatic drop in time and interest for academic activities. Like the saying goes, "one cannot serve two masters at a time".

Over and over again, scholars in Russia, Cuba, Ukraine… etc, have had to resort to violent demonstrations, protests and even hijacking of diplomatic missions before the supposed attention is given to their precarious situation. Unfortunately after a while everything goes sour again.

[b]Regrettably as I write now, BEA Scholarship students in China are going hungry as a result of unpaid scholarship allowances since January 2015, and still counting. Worst still, 2015 BEA Postgraduate Scholars who graduated since July, 2015 are yet to 'smell' most of their outstanding allowances and settlements for flight tickets back to Nigeria. Despite the announcement of about 400million naira bailout fund for settling of the overseas scholars, BEA Students in China are yet to see any ‘kobo’. They continuously rely on borrowing from their colleagues of other nations or involving in one illegal activity or the other outside school to fend for themselves. My guess is that the Nigerian government is as usual PATIENTLY waiting for these scholars to start protesting, so they would be tagged unpatriotic or better still an embarrassment to the nation. Nobody cares of what they are currently undergoing in trying to make ends meet. This is very pathetic and totally unfair!!! ... And I join voice with them to say that this is UNACCEPTABLE!!! Nigerian Government should and must sit up to its responsibility and save these wonderful brains from the psychological and physical distress they are going through for no fault of theirs. [/b]

My questions to Nigerian Government are:
1. What type and quality of individuals do you think you are breeding with this careless act of disregard?
2. Why is violence the only language you hear before discharging the duties you owe as public servants?
3. When did it become a crime to seek for scholarship as a qualified indigent Nigerian? By the way, isn't scholarship supposed to cater for these set of people?
4. Why do awarded scholarship allowances have to be put in capital budget annually when it is obvious that it should be a non-debatable and untouchable fund? Why can’t there be a fixed purse managing active awards?
5. When such money is released, who, cursed in the name of the devil, delays the disbursement of such?
6. When the remittances are made, why must there be unanswered questions as to where parts of the allowances like research grants sometimes disappear to?
7. Why does it become a story nobody is told or dares to ask Federal Scholarship Board and the Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja? I dare ask now, who sits on this money?
8. When does it stop being a norm in Nigerian system for one to get what is due to one without the "I know someone that knows someone... who can"?
9. What happens to the usual monitoring activities abroad to access the standard of living of scholars, and most importantly to access the quality of education they are receiving? If this is still on, then why hasn’t someone answered for their incompetency? Because apparently some people are just eating the benefit and not doing their Job!
10. Why aren’t scholarship beneficiaries absolved into the system to help contribute to nation building with the supposed internationally acclaimed high standard of education they have acquired upon graduation?
11. How do you as an office holder in Nigeria feed and rest at night knowing that helpless people entrusted in your care have not had their share of feeding, talk more of rest?

These and many other questions are calling for answers. And until they are given the right attention, I weep for what may become of Nigeria in the not very distant future. You may not care today as government personnel but remember “when one blocks his path with poo, he is bound to meet flies on his way back”. Today Nigeria cries for the north eastern part of its territory, but have refused to ask the very big question of how it got to that. Today, how many leaders in Nigerian government from that zone can boast of going home without their ‘heart in their pants’? Yes, I wonder myself.

The near-to-positive achievement commendable of President Buhari’s administration recently is the reduction of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry from 29 to 24 or there about, in an effort to cut down on the cost of governance. The choosing of Adamu Adamu as the minister of education, however, is not a choice some people are totally comfortable with. Others suggest that Adamu be given the benefit of doubt, believing that he will live up to the task of lifting the Education ministry to great heights. While scholarships to overseas may be something that will help to create a diversified community of intellects for National prosperity, Adamu should as matter of urgency, stop the ministry from giving fresh international scholarships, and concentrate on taking care of the current mammoth of scholarship beneficiaries suffering abroad, until the economy is ready for fresh awards.

Finally, this is a call on every well-meaning individual to help in the struggle for the rights of our fellow beings, especially the suffering youths abroad in the name of Scholarship. Let’s stop the “I don’t care” attitude. What goes around comes around.

NIGERIANS, BEA STUDENTS IN CHINA NEED YOU. PLEASE SHARE THIS. HELP BY LENDING YOUR VOICE TO THE DOWNTRODDEN!

Let the northern students who are affected write on behalf of others. They will get a faster response that way.

All you need to do is show that the program benefits/affects the northerners too.

.........

Buhari oh!!!

One step forward, 20 steps backward government!!!

Also read[url]=http://www.nigeriangist.com.ng/nnpcmobile-scholarship-2015-how-to-apply/[/url]

mulante:
Let the northern students who are affected write on behalf of others. They will get a faster response that way.

All you need to do is show that the program benefits/affects the northerners too.

Sad, things keep falling apart?

.

FibbA:
It is no longer news that this year has been the worst for all Nigerian federal scholars worldwide due to some reasons that are not well known to us. Fine, after a lot of pressure from different quarters and several attempt to hold the Nigerian embassy hostage over here on different occasion in the last 5 months, we got an information through the embassy from the federal scholarship board that money is being sent. This information filtered in about 3 weeks ago approximately. We had a sigh of relief, although when the educational officer made it clear that we should only be expecting 5 months allocation for now, it did not go down well with us because most of us have incurred huge debts through the year. Good, at least part of our stipend is being sent so that we can pay part of our debt and keep hoping that before the year ends, we shall be getting our leftover packages.
MADAM, students in Russia and all other countries under the bea scholarship have been paid their five months stipend since the beginning of last week. Well that has only buttressed the fact that we are not an exemption to the 5 months stipend news that filtered in 4 weeks ago.

Today is Friday November 27, 2015. Approximately in a month time the year is rounding up and every worker goes on vacation. Lets come to think of it, what will be the fate of some students that recently graduated, they have been stuck over here since the past 5 months due to lack of funds and living on false hope daily that allowance is on the way. Is it the five months stipend that will resolve their 11 months stay in cuba that has made them incur huge debts from other foreign students and Cuban nationals, by the way what will happen to their corresponding 7 months allowance left for the year before they depart finally for Nigeria?

For God sake what have we done to deserve this? Is it that most workers in the FSB do not have children to put in our position? Why is it that there is always problem with the Cuban scholars even after all other counterparts under the same program are being paid? Must we always result to washing our dirty linen in the public by attacking our embassy over here before we get attention? Is there something shady and beyond you, about our stipend so that we can communicate higher authorities? Why is it that the educational officer over here and the embassy’s accountant are being insensitive to our plight by portraying a nonchalant attitude towards doing their job with respect to our stipend? Who have we offended? What have we the Nigerian-Cuban scholars done that makes us peculiar? They say no, your money has to come through Canada, is transferring money to Canada not as good as transferring money to Russia or may be even faster? The accountant said he does not even know if our money will be coming through Canada this time around because at times our money is sent through the embassy’s account in Europe, is it that the account department in the FSB does not give sufficient and clear information to the embassy over here? Why is it difficult for the account department of the FSB to communicate CBN the urgency attached to the sending of our money, just like our other counterparts, because we are already in Dec 4, 2015 without a kobo this year? Is it that the department in CBN that deals with money remittance to foreign scholars does not give feedback to the FSB so that you can have the transaction details and forward it to the Nigerian embassy over here for clear details instead of creating the doubt on ground at the moment? Are we all not Nigerians? Well these are so many questions that need answers.

Since our last hope in this land is the Nigerian embassy, and the shame we have gone through is no longer bearable, there is no pain and loss in washing our dirty linen in public. This will even help bring our attention to the Cuban government and hopefully they will be able to help in their own way by communicating every necessary office in Nigeria. The board should expect a distressed call from the Embassy over here at any moment, and please note that we will not be leaving not until we are paid.

Samuel John,
On behalf of the federal scholars in Cuba.

Samuel John... Its so sad to know you scholars in Cuba are suffering the same fate as do the scholars in China. I advice that you harness every media avenue within your disposal to make your voices heard. My brother also graduated from China and still over there for this same reason. Keep Pushing it!!! NIGERIA MUST HEAR YOUR VOICES!!!
Create a New topic on Nairaland if possible.
I wonder why this Information is not on front Page yet for Nigerians to see what their young compatriots are going through in another man's country.... Oga Seun and Moderators, please help these young voices.

So sad!
I hope you guys have been paid. Have you?

Has anyone of you been paid yet?