AMERICA is planning to evacuate all of its citizens from Nigeria over the coming weeks with the local embassy and consulate conforming that they are making plans for a mass evacuation in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the fact that Nigeria has only been mildly affected by the pandemic with 111 cases of affected people and just one fatality, most Western nations are evacuating their citizens from the country. Already, France and Israel have already organised massive airlifts and the US and UK are said to be considering doing the same.
This is despite the fact that many of these country are far worse affected than Nigeria, especially the US, the most affected country in the world with 142,793 cases and 2,490 deaths so far. Already, the US embassy in Nigeria has advised American citizens to be in Abuja and Lagos as soon as possible to join the arranged flights back to the US.
With Nigeria having closed all her international airports, a special chartered flight will have to be arranged to carry out such an airlift. In a notice titled Health Alert: US Mission in Nigeria, the American embassy advised nationals not in Abuja and Lagos to work with local airlines to make travel arrangements while flights are still available.
It stated: “At present, there are no scheduled flights to the United States, however, we are actively exploring options and attempting to secure flights despite global airport closures and travel restrictions. We will email US citizens immediately once we have flight details, routes, and costs.
“US citizens who are considering returning to the United States are urged to travel to Abuja or Lagos as soon as possible. The embassy and consulate are unable to assist with lodging, food, or transportation costs and some hotels have closed or are closing.”
