Nigerian BEA scholars turn to VeryDarkMan over years of unpaid federal stipends (Pictures)
Nigerian students studying abroad under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship have taken their struggle to social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), as frustration mounts over what they describe as years of unpaid and short‑paid stipends.
VeryDarkMan made this intervention public after filming with Nigerian BEA scholars in Morocco, where he had travelled for the Africa Cup of Nations. According to him, the meeting with the students was coincidental, but their accounts of hunger, homelessness, untreated illness, and prolonged financial abandonment compelled him to speak out.
The crisis affects Nigerian students studying in Morocco, Russia, China, Hungary, and other partner countries under the BEA framework. Under the agreement, host countries provide tuition and, in many cases, accommodation, while the Nigerian government is responsible for living allowances and related support.
Morocco, however, is an exception: the host country does not provide accommodation for BEA scholars, leaving students to secure and fully fund their own housing in a rental market they describe as expensive and increasingly unaffordable.
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What Students Were Promised
Official BEA award letters issued by the Federal Scholarship Board clearly outline students’ entitlements. One such letter, issued in September 2025 to a Nigerian student admitted to study in Morocco, lists the following benefits:
Supplementation allowance: $500 per month ($6,000 per year)
Warm clothing allowance: $250 per year
Health insurance: $200 per year
Take‑off grant: ₦60,000 before departure
Travel: One‑way ticket to the host country and a return ticket upon completion.
Students argue that these figures represent a binding commitment by the Nigerian government, one many say has not been honoured.
In July 2024, the Federal Scholarship Board notified scholars of a major policy change. Citing exchange‑rate pressures and budgetary constraints, the government reduced the core monthly allowance from $500 to $220, while maintaining smaller components such as health insurance and warm‑clothing allowances.
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The notification also acknowledged outstanding arrears for 2023 and 2024, assuring students that the balances would be paid when funds became available.
A partial payment was eventually made in September 2024. Since then, according to multiple students, no further stipends have been paid, despite repeated assurances throughout 2025 that the issue was being addressed.
Students estimate they are owed approximately 16 months of unpaid allowances, in addition to eight months of shortfalls, caused by the reduction from the originally promised $500 monthly rate.
In videos released by VeryDarkMan, students describe living conditions they say have deteriorated beyond hardship into an emergency.
Several scholars report being evicted, relying on friends for shelter, or surviving on one meal a day. Students in Morocco say the situation is particularly difficult, as rent consumes a significant portion of their unpaid stipends, with private apartments costing far more than many can afford without government support. Because BEA rules prohibit beneficiaries from working, many say they have no legal means of supporting themselves.
“We are not allowed to work, and we are not being paid. That leaves us completely trapped,” one student said anonymously.
Students also linked the stipend delays to severe medical consequences. They allege that a Nigerian BEA scholar, died from a preventable illness after being unable to afford treatment due to unpaid allowances. Another student, featured on crutches, said he could not pay for surgery following a car accident.
“This scholarship was supposed to protect us,” another student said. “Instead, people are getting sick, injured.
In January 2026, the Federal Ministry of Education issued a press release rejecting claims that Nigerian scholars had been abandoned. The ministry stated that:
“All students on valid BEA scholarships have been paid up to the 2024 budget year;
“Any outstanding delays are due to fiscal constraints being addressed with the Ministry of Finance;
No new BEA scholarships were awarded in or after October 2025, and documents suggesting otherwise are “fake” or “unauthenticated.”
The ministry also announced a major policy shift, confirming the discontinuation of new government‑funded bilateral scholarships abroad, citing Nigeria’s expanded local tertiary capacity. Existing scholars were offered two options: continue their programmes under revised conditions or return to Nigeria for reintegration into local institutions, with travel costs covered.
VeryDarkMan rejected the ministry’s claims in a follow‑up video, presenting award letters dated 2025 that still state a $500 monthly allowance, contradicting official assertions that no new scholarships were issued after that period.
He also challenged the government’s denial directly, calling on the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, to pursue legal action if the allegations are false.
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“If I am lying, take me to court when I return to Nigeria,” VDM said in the video. “But if these documents are real, then Nigerians deserve the truth.”
VDM further questioned why the House of Representatives launched an investigation into BEA stipends in November 2025, arguing that such scrutiny would be unnecessary if there were no irregularities.
Despite official statements and policy explanations, affected scholars insist that the central issue remains unresolved: they have not been paid.
“We are not asking for sympathy,” one student said. “We are asking for what was written in our award letters and promised by our government.
As the dispute continues into 2026, Nigerian BEA scholars across multiple countries say they remain caught between official assurances and daily survival — waiting for payments that, for many, mean the difference between continuing their education and complete collapse.
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