- Tamara Eboue
- BBC News – Abuja
Charles Collins (in white) is a midfielder for the Sudanese Haidoub Al-Nuhood team
Charles Collins was looking forward to his next game in the Sudanese Premier League when fighting erupted in the country on 15 April, turning his city into a war zone.
The 28-year-old Nigerian footballer, who plays for Khartoum side Haidoub Al-Nuhud, said he had to leave all his belongings behind and flee wearing only his black shorts, after battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces reached the area where he lives. In a neighborhood of the Sudanese capital.
Collins was among 396 Nigerians who returned to Abuja from Egypt this week, after fleeing Sudan in what many described as a dangerous journey that lasted several days.
Speaking to the BBC at Abuja International Airport, Collins turns around to show a black backpack and says: “I’ll come home with just this… my blanket.”
He continued, “I walked out of my house wearing only my gym shorts, and it was a horrible experience.”
Haidoub Al-Nuhoud club, which only rose to the first division this season, was on its way to qualifying for the CAF Confederation Cup, a football competition established by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), organized annually by the Confederation of African Football and considered the second largest African championship. at the club level after the CAF Champions League.
The Haidoub Al-Nuhood team lost to Cooper Khartoum 1-0, just one week before the start of the fighting, but despite that loss, it remained in fourth place in the currently suspended league.
But after what he’s been through, Collins doesn’t see himself being able to return to Sudan to continue his career.
A few top-flight Nigerian footballers have moved to Sudan over the years and have found the top Sudanese clubs playing in the continental competitions attractive.
‘It was a horrible experience’
Collins, who moved to Sudan three and a half years ago after arriving from Mauritius club Ritchie More Rovers, said he had lost everything he owned in the country, including $20,000 (£16,000) in cash.
He was combining his profession as a soccer player with doing some business, and he imported hair extensions to Sudan to sell them and received a shipment eight days before the outbreak of the fighting, which he naturally lost due to the goings-on in the country and the resulting security chaos.
Collins said upon his arrival in Abuja, pointing to a man carrying a black bag resembling a plastic bag: “There are many who returned and they do not have anything .. At least I came back with a blanket.”
He added, “It is clear that this man came back with only his food.”
image copyright Getty Images
Fighting continued in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, despite both sides agreeing to a ceasefire
The evacuees were flown in two planes – one belonging to the Nigerian commercial carrier Air Peace, and the other a military plane from Aswan in neighboring Egypt. They were stranded for several days at the Egyptian border due to problems with their visas.
Before the outbreak of the fighting, the number of Nigeriens residing in Sudan was estimated at more than 5,000 people, most of them students. Sudan is famous for specialized studies in Islam and classical Arabic, which was taught by many Nigerians.
The affordable colleges of pharmacy and medicine were also popular with Nigerians.
Despite the difficult situation, there were joyful scenes at Abuja airport as the evacuees met their family members and government officials.
But of course, most of them are still in a state of shock because of what happened to them recently.
“It was a horrible experience the whole trip,” student Zainab Abdel-Qader told the BBC.
She explained how her leg was swollen from sitting all night in a car while she and others fled Sudan without water or food.
“I felt a state of extreme tension, accompanied by fear and instability,” she said.
Maiza Abdelaziz, a student at the International University of Africa in Khartoum, which is popular with Nigerians, said she was confused on the first day of the fighting as she thought the gunfire was just an electrical short circuit.
“The flight was very stressful, we had pregnant women with us… but we thank God we came home.”
Maiza, a first-year student, said she hopes to return to Sudan when the fighting is over.
Sudan’s ambassador to Nigeria, Mohamed Yusuf, had appealed to Nigerians returning from the conflict-affected country to consider returning once peace and security were restored.
Most Nigerian students in Sudan study medicine or classical Arabic
The ambassador also asked those Nigerians to consider Sudan as their second country, expressing optimism that the fighting could soon be brought under control.
“I am very sorry for what is happening in Sudan but at the same time I am very happy that those evacuees have arrived safely and there have been no loss of life,” he was quoted by the Nigerian newspaper Kebel as saying.
Saadia Farooq, Nigeria’s Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, said each returnee would receive $200 (£160) to enable them to settle back home.
Nigeria has sent 40 luxury buses to take the evacuees from Sudan to Egypt, where they can then be flown home.
However, it is not yet clear how many of the 5,000 students will be evacuated to Nigeria, as some have made their own plans to cross to neighboring countries.
Many of the evacuees said they would consider enrolling in Nigerian universities to continue their education, but Collins’ case is different, as he does not have this luxury.
“I don’t know what to do,” Collins said.
“But I’m glad to be back, it was an awful experience.”
Additional reporting by Joseph jigdifrom Abuja.
2023-05-08 05:28:24
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