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Cote d'Ivoire: Evacuated Nigerians Arrive in Abidjan

This Day (Lagos)
NEWS
October 1, 2002
Posted to the web October 1, 2002
Lagos
About 37 Nigerians, including women and children, who were recently evacuated
by French troops from Bouake, one of the troubled spots in Cote d'Ivoire, have
arrived in Abidjan.
The head of the group temporarily quartered at the Nigerian embassy in Abidjan,
Mr. Nwogu Ugochukwu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that they were picked
up by the French troops from a village called Djebounoua, some 25 km from
Bouake, and ferried to Yamoussoukro.
He estimated that as many as 20,000 Nigerians were still trapped in Bouake,
Korhogo and environs, following the September 19 mutiny and occupation of some
towns by some dissident soldiers kicking against their planned demobilisation
by their government.
He said that the prefect of Yamoussoukro gave them a pass and made arrangements
for them to be transported to Abidjan.
"The rebels and the citizens of Bouake treated us kindly but the announcement
that Nigeria had sent some fighter jets to assist the Ivorian government
triggered some hostility towards us by both the renegade soldiers and the
indegenes of Bouake," Nwogu said. That the deployment of the Nigeria Air Force
planes to Cote d'ivoire has elicited some hostile reactions from Ivorians. One
of them said: "You people have sent war planes to destroy Cote d'Ivoire as you
did in Liberia."
Many Nigerians resident in Abidjan have come to the embassy to complain about
the hostility of some Ivorians toward them since the arrival of the planes, a
move that prompted the staff of the embassy to hold a meeting with them.
During the meeting, the embassy staff explained to the Nigerians that Nigeria
had not come to fight for Cote d'Ivoire, saying that the planes were brought on
Cote d'Ivoire's request for only logistic support. They added that the planes
were there on standby should the situation deteriorate.
"In Bouake, some citizens threatened that they would not allow us to escape so
as to ensure that we all die together in the event of an aerial attack by
Nigerian jets," Nwogu said.
Explaining the arrival of the French troops as well as the Nigerian planes, the
Ivorian Minister of Defence, Mr. Lida Kouassi, said that the government did not
ask any country to send soldiers to fight for them but that it only requested
some friendly neighbours as well as France "to assist us with logistics and
materials which we lacked".

   

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