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Ukraine: Trapped Nigerian on friendship and terror in Sumy

Nigerian veterinary student Samuel Otunla has been stuck in the north-east Ukrainian city of Sumy since the outbreak of the conflict. Ahead of reports that evacuations have begun, he sent the BBC an account of life in a city that is close to the Russian border and frontline.

The whole experience over the past 10 days has been nothing short of traumatic.

In cities further west, civilians have been able to leave and cross the border to safety in Poland, Romania, Hungary or Slovakia but we have been unable to leave Sumy.

The railway has been closed so there are no trains.

The main roads are largely inaccessible – some have been destroyed to stop Russian troops from advancing, while others have been totally blocked and taken over by the Russians.

Nevertheless, there are civilians who have made it out by road managing to negotiate their way through all the checkpoints. Others have tried and have either been shot at and forced to turn back or have reached dead ends where broken bridges have made it impossible to proceed.

Yes, it is possible to leave Sumy but it is extremely risky – and expensive.

The students spend the night in the basement in case of shelling

Expensive because the Ukrainian drivers who are able to transport students are charging between $2,000 and $5,000 (£1,500 and £3,800) for a drive down south of 200km (124 miles).

After that anyone fleeing needs to catch a free train to a city in the west, like Lviv, and then cross the border.

So, in reality, we can’t get out.

Officials from Sumy National Agrarian University told us a couple days ago that there were discussions to set up a humanitarian corridor to allow civilians to leave Sumy and other areas safely.

On Monday, buses had been prepared so that students could be moved but unfortunately the Russians have not agreed to a ceasefire so the Ukrainian government cannot, for our own safety, transport us.

The Nigerian government has helped students get back home but, so far, only once they have managed to cross the western border, which is 1,300km away – so that doesn’t help us, at least not yet.

The Nigerian embassy in Russia (and other African countries I understand) has offered us the option of being taken to Russia and evacuated from there.

Many students have rejected this idea and rightly so. Russia is the enemy.

The best option is to get us to the west.

Meanwhile in Sumy, we are constantly getting safety warnings from the military. When the siren goes off everyone has to run down to the bomb shelters for safety.

Samuel Otunla says there is a spirit of cooperation among the students

Usually from down in the shelter, we hear the shelling and gunfire.

I, together with over 60 international students, Ukrainian students and hostel staff have spent the past seven nights in a dusty basement that doubles as a bomb shelter. It’s not a good experience.

We’ve received financial help from different organisations and through these we have been able to get groceries and other supplies.

We don’t know how much longer we will be here but we may need more supplies soon.

Source: BBC

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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank

A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.

The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.

The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.

Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.

The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.

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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.

Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.

He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.

“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.

President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.

He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.

He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.

“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.

Source: Myjoyonline.com