Germany is the most popular non-English speaking host country for international students; there are almost 400,000 international students here in Deutschland. The main attraction is that in most German states, tuition fees are free. Students get quality education in world-class cities, that costs a lot less.

Therefore, Nigerian students join their peers from other nations to seek study opportunities in Germany.

But this year, thanks to the pandemic and a lack of information, Nigerian students are having a rough deal – to put it mildly, most may not make it here in time to resume for the winter semester.  On this episode, I spoke to Emmanuel Fadipe, president of the Nigeria Scholars in Germany and he spoke on the association’s efforts to assist incoming students.

You'll also hear from Rebecca Osinloye, a prospective student who joined other Nigerians in a Twitter protest of sorts. They are all seeking visa appointments from the German embassy in Nigeria. Rebecca is based in Lagos and has been pursuing a visa appointment for five months.

She’s also had to delay her school resumption date, twice. To hear her full story, just skip to around the 23-minute mark of the podcast. 

The sad reality is that students are turning to their peers on social networking site Nairaland for information, which is all based on anecdotal evidence, word-of-mouth and is therefore prone to misinformation and disinformation. 

I also tried to speak to the German embassy in Nigeria but after a week of one email, repeat calls that went mostly unanswered and one tweet, a representative said the embassy is currently unable to grant interview requests.

In that email response, the German embassy in Nigeria did add that any news and updates would be on their social media accounts. If anyone wants to keep updated, you can find them here on: Facebook, Twitter and their website. 

Good luck, and don"t forget to leave me a voice-note on the page with your thoughts, concerns or topics you want me to focus on.