By SUNTV Global Channel
January 7, 2026 | News
Nigerian students studying in Morocco under a Federal Government scholarship programme have raised alarm over what they describe as years of abandonment, hardship, unpaid stipends, and worsening humanitarian conditions, calling on the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene.
The plight of the students sparked widespread outrage on social media after a video shared by popular social media activist Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, showed several distressed Nigerian scholars narrating their ordeals in Morocco.
In the video, which has since gone viral, stranded students accused the Nigerian government of failing to honour its financial commitments under the scholarship scheme, leaving them hungry, homeless, unable to access healthcare, and in some cases, forced out of school.
“These are Nigerians in Morocco who were given scholarships by the Nigerian government, yet have been abandoned and left stranded,” VeryDarkMan said in the footage. “Now they are suffering, jobless, and forgotten.”
“We Were Sent Here to Become Doctors, Now We Are Left to Suffer”
One of the affected students, a final-year medical student at a Moroccan university, said he and others had spent several years studying abroad under the belief that they were being trained to return home and strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system.
“I am in my final year studying medicine, but we have been abandoned,” he said. “They gave us scholarships to become doctors, but left us here with nothing.”
According to the students, the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) between Nigeria and Morocco strictly prohibits beneficiaries from working while studying. With stipends allegedly unpaid for long periods, many say they are trapped with no legal means of survival.
Several students claimed they had gone between two and five years without consistent financial support.
Injury, Illness and Death Linked to Lack of Funds
One scholar, seen moving with crutches, recounted how desperation pushed him to secretly seek work, violating the scholarship terms. He said he sustained a severe injury on his way back from work and broke his thigh bone.
“I came to Morocco healthy,” he said. “Because I had no means of survival, I had to work. On my way back, I had an accident. I couldn’t pay my hospital bills, and till today, I haven’t paid.”
The students also spoke emotionally about the death of a fellow Nigerian scholar, Bashir Malami, a 2019/2020 BEA beneficiary who studied Electrical Engineering at École Supérieure de Technologie de Salé.
According to them, Malami reportedly suffered from tuberculosis but avoided seeking treatment because he could not afford hospital-related expenses.
“He kept it to himself because he had no money,” one student said. “The sickness got worse until he died.”
Unpaid Stipends, Evictions, and Discrimination
The scholars alleged that the Nigerian government promised them a monthly stipend of $500 and paid their initial travel costs. They further claimed that their scholarship letters were signed on behalf of the Federal Government by the current Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa.
They accused officials of threatening them whenever they attempted to speak out.
“They say we want to disgrace the government,” one student said. “But what is more disgraceful than being evicted because your government failed to pay your rent?”
Another student narrated how his landlord openly compared Nigeria unfavourably with other African countries.
“He said countries like Niger are not owing him for their students, but Nigerians are owing more than 12 months’ rent,” the student said, adding that eviction threats had become routine.
Some students said Nigeria’s reputation for unpaid rent has made Moroccan landlords reluctant to rent apartments to Nigerian scholars.
“When they hear you are Nigerian, they don’t want to rent to you because Nigeria doesn’t pay,” one student lamented.
Studies Abandoned, Lives at Risk
A nursing student said she had been unable to attend clinical training due to lack of transportation funds and basic materials.
“We don’t have money to go to the hospital for training,” she said. “Nigerian government, please help us.”
The students further disclosed that some scholars had been expelled from school, while others faced life-threatening medical emergencies. One such case involved a student identified as Umar, who required urgent surgery for appendicitis.
“The hospital refused to treat him until payment was made,” a student said. “The Nigerian embassy had to borrow $1,000 for the surgery. If not for that, we could have lost him.”
Calls for Urgent Intervention
The stranded scholars appealed passionately to the Federal Government, the Ministry of Education, and Nigeria’s diplomatic missions to urgently disburse outstanding funds and rescue them from worsening hardship.
They warned that without immediate action, more lives could be lost and years of academic effort wasted.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigerian government had not issued an official response to the allegations or the viral video highlighting the scholars’ plight.
