23 RSSDA Scholarship students abandoned by the Rivers state government of Nigeria.

We, the Sixteen final year Medical students and 7 recent medical graduates of the University of Debrecen medical school, Hungary, under the sponsorship of the Rivers State Government (RSG), were awarded scholarships via the now defunct platform, Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), to study Medicine in 2012 during the Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led administration.

We have no political affiliations. We are just young people trying to better our lives and become productive members of society.

This scholarship was awarded to us based on merit after series of rigorous examinations and personal interviews -- contrary to claims of our being children of the governor’s rich political enemies. A contract was signed by both parties, thereby binding the government to provide our tuition fee, living expenses and book allowances for the full extension of our studies 2012 – 2018.

In 2015, the Governor of Rivers State, Barr. Nyesom Wike, asked for students under the aforementioned scholarship to be sent back home to Nigeria due to insufficiency of funds to continue the sponsorship. We were offered to be placed in Nigerian universities but these promises were never actualised as plans were never made to book flights and obtain admission in these schools.

We have spent 48 months (48 years) fending for ourselves. We have undergone untold hardships, been sent out of our apartments and have run into huge debt in our bid to survive. Our University has been gracious enough to allow us continue our studies despite our enormous debt, with the condition that our certificates will be withheld until our debts have been fully paid.

We currently owe our university 4 academic years’ worth of tuition. This is a lot of money. It is practically impossible for any of us to raise such sums on our own. It is pertinent that these monies be paid since we are unable to work as medical doctors, anywhere in the world without our certificates.

Being in a foreign country, far away from home, and having no funds being sent to us for the past 4 years has come with a lot of challenges including: studying for difficult medical exams – which we are not even sure we would be allowed to take -- while hungry, depressed, starved for many days; some sleeping outside in the cold in winter; others with the fear of being evicted by landlords, just to mention a few.

All efforts to communicate with the government has been futile, hence our resorting to this medium and our need of your support.

As mentioned in the petition, the contract states that the government will cover our tuition fees, living expenses and book allowances for the full extent of our stay in Hungary.

Here is a breakdown of the amount owed by the government:

TUITION - 4 years, 15,500$ for 23 persons

STIPEND - 48months, 950$ per month for 23 persons

BOOK ALLOWANCE - 4 years, $1000 per year, for 23 persons

This amounts to a total of 111,600$ per person and 2,566,800$ for all 23 persons.

We understand the grandiosity of the highlighted sum but we are ready to receive anything to aid us actualise our life goal, thus, the creation of the Gogetfunding Me account.