A US-based Nigerian graduate student named Ebiere Awudu has accused the Bayelsa State government of failing to pay her scholarship fees. In addition, the student, who published an online message soliciting donations, accused the Bayelsa Government of not paying her monthly stipend of $1000.
“Unfortunately, the Nigerian government has abandoned me in this country without fulfilling its obligation to my university,” said the student who is a student at the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut. Ms. Awudu disclosed that the government’s failure to pay her fees would likely jeopardize her plans to graduate in May 2015. According to her, she would be able to graduate only if her “tuition and fees are paid in full.”
In a public plea for help, the embattled student disclosed that she “came to the United States on an academic scholarship from the Bayelsa State government of Nigeria. Ever since I was a child, I always had dreams of schooling in America. I came into this country with high hopes of graduating with a good education.”
SaharaReporters was able to determine that the student was supposed to do a two-year graduate course in communication from 2013 to 2015.
“The Nigerian government owes my university over $11,500 in tuition fees for two semesters and owes me unpaid stipend fees for 17 months at $1,000 per month, amounting to $17,000,” the student stated in her release. She added that she had made attempts to contact the state government via letters and emails, but made no progress.
“The feedback I get from the government is that the government is broke or money has not been released. On the occasions when money was released, the story I was told was “we are processing your payment.” Yet the money never came but disappeared into thin air.
The student revealed that state officials told her either that the government was broke or that funds had not been released. “So the question I asked and never received any response was what happened to the funds that were released? After waiting for several months, which turned into weeks and now 17 months, I am left with no other option than to depend on the generosity of kindhearted Americans,” Ms. Awudu asked.
Her statement continued: “I am really thankful though to the Nigerian government for granting me this opportunity to study abroad in the first place; I really wish they could honor their commitment. If my family could afford to pay my fees, I wouldn’t have had to get a scholarship.
“Since the Nigerian government has failed to meet its financial obligation to my school, my school has transferred the financial responsibility to me because, according to my school ‘Nigerian government has not been a responsible third party.”
In asking for public help, Ms. Awudu said she had worked so hard in life and had come too far “to let the $11,500 owed to my school stand between me and my graduation with a masters degree.”
She wrote: “That is why I need your help. Your generosity would help me finish my graduate program. Interestingly, $11,500 may not mean much for some, but it means the world to me especially at this point in my life.”
Indicating her desire to return to Nigeria upon graduation, Ms. Awudu told potential sponsors that she “can contribute positively to the growth of my country.” She added: “Most significantly, you will be a part of that growth. I will tell my countrymen about the kindness and generosity of the Americans. I have learnt a lot, within the short period of time, that I have been here: the sense of community, the love for one's own country, the loyalty of Americans to their countrymen.”
As at the time of this report, the student had received only $30 in donations.