Mrs Patience Key, the immediate past Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Americas (NIDOA) has called on the Federal Government to give more support to Nigerians evacuated from Ukraine.
Key made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York on Sunday.
She said that government had made considerable effort in evacuating its citizens from Ukraine but that those evacuated needed support to continue their lives.
No fewer than 1, 500 Nigerians have been evacuated so far from Ukraine and neighbouring countries, where war has been raging between Russia and Ukraine.
According to Key, the government has put a fair effort on the evacuation of Nigerian citizens in Ukraine.
“But that is not to say that the situation government is perfect. I am appealing to the Nigerian government to do more in addition to the effort put in so far.
“My advice to the government is to double effort to evacuate every Nigerian from the country. Resources should be allocated to aid and fasten the evacuation processes.
“Other plans and arrangements should also be made to support evacuated Nigerians to continue lives in their back home.’’
According to her, Nigeria has a good relationship with both Ukraine and Russia and their embassies can be approached in Nigeria to discuss total evacuation of Nigerians in their countries.
Key, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Redemption Party, however, commended the Nigerian government for its efforts, saying, “the government is doing it best.
“What the government is doing is what any other government would do, especially in fulfilling its oath for the protection of lives and property of its citizens.
“So far, quite a good number of Nigerians are evacuated from Ukraine because they are also potential targets.
“It is also the responsibility of the Nigerian government to make sure they provide security for every citizen within and outside Nigeria. It is not an easy decision to take but it is a necessary move.
“I was able to reach out to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, who responded that they are putting together a proactive plan to evacuate all Nigerians in Ukraine.’’
Key told NAN that the world could not afford a war at this time when every country was grappling with coronavirus and its variants.
“People have asked rhetorical questions, others tried to analyse the situation why and how suddenly attention was shifted from the threats of COVID-19 and its variants to the fear of an eminent world war as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.’’
She said that the world was engaged in a pathological/biological war against a hybrid COVID virus which kept mutating and producing different variants and strains at various levels.
“Well as it stands, all COVID-19 safety protocols have been bridged, the number of cases suddenly do not matter anymore.
“Having another world war is like knowing the existing threats and yet willing to give COVID-19 and its strains the opportunity to complete their mission of annihilating humans.
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“In my candid opinion, we cannot risk going to war amidst the COVID pandemic. It will be a death blow for humanity,’’ she said.
