TheCable

Nura Rimi, the ambassador of Nigeria to Egypt, says the country is given top priority by the Egyptian government in the granting of evacuation approval for nationals fleeing Sudan.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) had said citizens evacuated from the crisis in Sudan were stranded at the Egyptian border since last Thursday evening.

The NIDCOM chair said over 7,000 nationals, including Nigerians, were refused entry into Egypt because the authorities were insisting on visas by fellow Africans to transit to their countries.

She said the Nigerian mission in Egypt had been working tirelessly to rectify the issue.

On Monday, the borders were opened. Dabiri-Erewa said the development happened after President Muhammadu Buhari spoke with Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Egyptian president.

‘THE BORDERS WERE FIRST OPENED TO NIGERIANS’

Speaking with NAN on Thursday, Rimi said the feat was achieved because of the cordial relations between both countries.

He said many countries chose to evacuate their citizens through the southern part of Egypt because of their confidence in the government while the northern African country’s neighbours were foregone because of their instability.

As a result, Egypt must first think of the security implication in offering assistance to the countries seeking evacuation approval, Rimi noted.

He said Nigeria was prioritised in the process.

“It was not an easy decision as I said because security considerations were taken, but Nigerians were within the shortest possible time granted approval to be evacuated through Egypt,” NAN quoted the ambassador as saying.

“That’s why I kept saying those conditions and guidelines that were given were in good faith because Egypt has to preserve its own national security.

“If you look at the countries around Egypt, almost all of them are in one form of crisis or the other.

“So, it is always necessary for countries to safeguard their territorial integrity and to make sure that they guarantee their own security because if a country is not secured then nobody will want to live in it. Even the citizens will run away and leave the country.’’

Rimi lauded the efforts of the Egyptian government for the priority given in approving the use of its border to evacuate Nigerians stranded in Sudan.

“I must thank President Abdulfattah el-Sisi for graciously accepting to opening the Egyptian borders to Nigeria. These borders were open first and foremost to Nigerians before any other nationality.

“I met my colleague ambassadors from other countries waiting and waiting for approvals to be able to bring in their citizens to be evacuated. Nigeria was, I believe, the first country to be given this approval and then other countries followed suit.

“I must also thank my friend, the ambassador of Egypt to Nigeria, Ambassador Ihab, who not only facilitated the granting of this approval but also happened to be in Egypt at that time and worked hand in hand with me to make sure that this exercise succeeds.”

Rimi said the Nigerian embassy in Cairo liaised with its counterpart in Khartoum, Sudan, to arrange for the safe evacuation of citizens residing there.

“Colleagues in Khartoum were overwhelmed; so we helped by sending our staff of Sudanese origin from Cairo to go to Khartoum to assist them in evacuation,” he said.