Students out of the country 'stranded' subsequent economic difficulty

The sharp decline in oil revenues - Nigeria's main source of foreign exchange - together with tight fiscal policy of the new government, threaten the well-being of Nigerians studying abroad. Many reportedly stranded and there is concern that students could be among the 29,000 Nigerians allegedly targeted repatriation of the British government.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimates that there are some 52,000 Nigerian students abroad, including 17,300 in the top destination country of the United Kingdom. New York-based Institute of International Education reports nearly 8,000 Nigerians studying in the United States.

Number of Nigerian students abroad can be much higher, as their numbers in other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa seems to be insufficiently reported.

Nigerian government with its strategy of developing a well-educated young people, encourages students to study abroad and facilitate their easy and legal access to money, while in foreign countries though the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Foreign universities use the recent oil boom organize annual exhibitions in Lagos, the capital Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ibadan. Human resources experts were sent to encourage Nigerian students to foreign universities.

Parents in the upper and middle classes were able to get recognition for their children to universities in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia and South Africa, to name a few.

The crisis and its causes

During the recent boom of oil in Nigeria, Bonny light crude oil in the country sold at more than US $ 100 a barrel. The United States, however, now began to produce its own shale oil and gas, resulting in a sharp decline in their gas imports.

The US has also become a major exporter of cheap oil and gas to countries like India and China, thereby robbing Nigeria some of their most lucrative customers. This has led to the plummeting of Nigerian crude oil price at around US to $ 50.

During the last general elections, Nigeria is faced with rampant yield foreign reserves at its political elite. In an attempt to arrest this bleeding of foreign exchange reserves through money laundering and financial corruption, the newly elected President Muhammad Bukharin has clamped down on the use of foreign currency.

He ordered the central bank governor partially frozen all household accounts in foreign currencies, which prevents businesses and individuals from depositing foreign currency in their accounts. You are de-activated credit cards Naira denomination issued by commercial banks.

The impact of austerity measures

The resulting oil saturation negative impact on social services in Nigeria. With strict rules of foreign exchange, it has become almost impossible for parents or government agencies to help students abroad.

For the first time in Nigeria's recent history, several thousand people who are studying at various universities around the world stranded. They sent distress calls to the Nigerian government for help.

To make matters even more complex, many of the host country does not allow international students to undertake part-time to finance their tuition fees and living expenses. This is as a result of many host countries according to their own economic challenges, leading to higher unemployment among graduates.

Reactions

Students from the Niger Delta are beneficiaries of the amnesty initiated by the federal government. This is done in the interest of a peaceful environment for oil production in the area.

These students did not receive payment for several months and Pastor Reuben Wilson of Leadership peace and cultural development initiatives called Bukhara to help them. This resulted in the instructions to the Amnesty Office to remit funds to those students.

In addition, the Governor of Rivers State Nye’s Wake has arranged payment of 3.6 million US dollars to settle the debts of the state the final year of study abroad, allowing them to sit their final examinations. However, the fate of other students remains unresolved.

President of the Association of Federal Government doctoral candidates in Russia found that "students from Nigeria on a scholarship in Russia and other countries, namely Morocco, Algeria, Cuba, Serbia, Turkey, China and Romania, all are stranded."

He told them scholarships were paid in the last six months, an excuse that it was "the budget has not yet been signed."

Abide Dabiri-erew, President of the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, announced that the UK government is making plans to return about 29,000 Nigerians who do not have the necessary papers to stay.

According to reliable sources, stranded Nigerian students may be among those who returned.