No fewer than 98 Nigerian students are currently in various higher institutions in Algeria, according to the Nigerian Ambassador to Algeria, Aisha Garba.
Garba, on Wednesday, disclosed that the students are in Algeria on the Education Bilateral Agreement between both countries.
The programme, she said, had been on since 2010.
Garba revealed this after playing host to the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Bayero, at the Nigeria Embassy in Algiers.
Bayero was in Algiers for a two-day International Conference on “Imam Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Maghili Governance Stability and Unity of African Societies.”
She said, “We have a sizable number of Nigerians in Algeria. Apart from those that work in the Embassy, we have Nigerian students who are under the Bilateral Education Agreement. About 98 of them are studying in various fields.
“We have professionals working in various international organisations. They are few though. We have Nigerians (the migrants) in view of the proximity from Algeria to Europe.
“We usually get up to 15-20 students every year but from 2020-2022. Due to the COVID-19, we have not received any student yet.
“We are hoping that by 2023, the scholarships will resume.”
The envoy also noted that the embassy’s major challenge, which had been that of accommodation would soon be over as it had been allocated land for the building of the Nigerian embassy in Algiers.
The envoy said construction work would commence as soon as possible.
The Embassy, Garba explained, had been operating from a rented apartment, and this had been consuming a large chunk of the mission’s subsection annually.
She stated, “It has been challenging for us because the properties for rent in this area are on the high side.
“The project will start as soon as possible. We are doing the paperwork already. We don’t have the budget, yet, of how much the building will cost because we just got the land.”
She also urged Nigerians to always visit the Embassy whenever they came into any country and not when they ran into trouble.
The envoy said, “Sometimes, we do not know when Nigerians come in until something happens then we start running helter skelter.”
She added, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been telling people all the time, that whenever they are coming to a foreign land and they have representation in that country, the first point of call is the Embassy so that if anything happens, he or she has registered their presence in the country. The embassy will know where they live and the purpose of their coming.
“The only time we do not have a quick response to issues is when it is complex especially when it has to do with an illegal stay. This is because illegal migration is a crime in this country. But if one is a legal resident, we try as much as possible to protect Nigerians.”
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