A former Vice President of the country, Atiku Abubakar has urged President Buhari to take urgent and immediate steps to evacuate Nigerians trapped in Ukraine.
The immediate past presidential candidate of the PDP in 2019 who took to Twitter expressed concern over the fate of Nigerian nationals in that war ravaged country.
“I will… request that the Nigerian government does its best to evacuate Nigerians in Ukraine”, Atiku said in his latest tweet.
He acknowledged that a “majority” of Nigerians in that country where intense fighting is going on “are students.”
“The conflict between Russia and Ukraine demands that all nations of goodwill must rise to ensure that diplomacy is deployed to de-escalate the situation” Atiku added.
Atiku’s appeal to the Nigerian authorities is coming as Russian troops who launched an offensive Thurday gradually approach the Ukrainian capital, Kiev
Ukrainian forces are apparently no match for the battle tested Russian army who are better armed and motivated.
There are reports that civilian volunteers are teeming up with the army to defend what is left of their fatherland.
Kiev is expected to fall within the next few days as Russian tanks push forward, supported by thousands of special forces who have been massed at the Ukrainian border.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign ministry is asking Nigerians in Ukraine to avoid the street.
Geoffrey Onyeoma, Nigeria Foreign Minister said Thursday that Nigeria enjoys excellent relations with Russia and Ukraine as well as the United States.