Rivers State Students On Scholarship Abroad Send An SOS Message To Governor Wike

University of St Andrews
                                                                                                                                                      College Gate,
                                                                                                                                                      St Andrews,
                                                                                                                                                      Scotland, Uk
                                                                                                                                                      18th April , 2016
His Excellency
Barr . Ezebunwa Nyeson Wike
The Executive Governor  
Rivers State Government House
Port Harcourt, Nigeria


Dear Sir

A Cry for help


On behalf of the Rivers State students oversea under the arm of Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), we regret to inform you that we have not been paid our upkeep and accommodation allowance since December 2014. This is a situation we do not want to address because of the effort of the state Government in laying foundation for human capital development in the state; we honestly do not want to bring the integrity of the scholarship program in dispute. But with our current financial position, there is no option left for us to ponder other than cry out for help. We cannot bear it any longer as it is beyond us. We cannot make mountains out of this rather than declare it as fair as it is.

We would like to bring to your notice that as a result of the non-payment from the State government, most of us have been evacuated from our accommodation and are homeless now, the rest of the students are now facing evacuation. Worst still, our landlords threatened to take us to court if we do not pay up the rent that we are owing, also our utilities including electric power supply , water, and internet have all been cut off  by the various concerned authorities.

Most importantly, we are broke to the point even food can no longer be found on our table, this is alarming but it is what we face day after day. Sadly, we cannot remember the last time we visited the market to buy food. The market is now a strange place that sometimes we question if we could ever go there again. It is shameful to inform you that, we now rely on our foreign friends for even food. It is believe that food is the fundamentals of existence, so how do we survive in strange land without food and roof to cover our heads? Transportation to school is now a forgotten story because we have not been able to pay for buses; as we go to go by walking.

We are stranded as we have been forgotten and abandon in a strange far away land and we barely hear from our sponsors; at least to ask of the state of things with us. RSSDA has told us that the State Government has not given them any fund and there is nothing they can do to help us. This information from the agency is so depressing knowing that we have not been paid for more than one year and six months now. Falling back on our parents and relatives did not help much as the demand was more than they could supply. The condition here is more than stated and we are currently at the verge of facing court over non-payment of rents and bills. We believe our health is more important that our studies because without food in our system, we cannot be functional and concentrate on our books considering the high demand of studying as most of us are medical students.

Our condition has gone bad, pitiful and we are now hopeless in a foreign land. We look forward to your positive action.

Thank you.
James Nwankwo
For on behalf of rivers state oversea scholars