The president of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation in Russia, Prof Maurice Okoli, has urged the Nigerian students studying abroad to always engage in menial jobs to survive.

Okoli said this while reacting to a video of some Nigerian students who lamented hardships in Russia, adding that the federal government has not paid them.

In the video, the medical and engineering students said they gained scholarships through bilateral educational agreements between Russia and Nigeria, but have been left stranded.

“We’ve been left stranded by the Nigerian government. We have been forced into abject poverty, thereby sending our boys to menial jobs like working in construction sites and sending our girls into prostitution,” one of the students said.

“We were last paid in September 2024, and till date, we have not received a dime. We are soliciting the Nigerian government to come to our aid,” he said.

In May, the Federal Government approved N4bn for the payment of allowances to Nigerian students studying abroad under the Bilateral Education Agreement following the video.

While the federal government responded to their plight by paying, the Nigerian community leader in Russia said many migrant students survive through part-time jobs, and Nigerians should use them to survive.

Speaking with Diaspora Tales on Wednesday, Okoli said the Russian government gave the scholarships to many countries but it was the responsibility of the recipient countries to take care of feeding and other fees.

“There is always a delay from Nigeria for remitting the money. Sometimes they owe six months, three months or four months. This kind of thing happened ten years ago so the government still paid them,” Okoli said.

He said the delay might have come from the processing through the Central Bank of Nigeria and other documentation.

“There are certain things they could do that can work here (in Russia) by engaging in part-time jobs. People work very well here and get paid. You go to shops and work. I think they are working, only that they are pressing to get that money they are entitled to,” he added.