Escape from Ukraine: Nigerian student starts over in Germany

Brenda Majekodunmi was a second-year medical student at Vinnytsia National Medical University when Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 changed her life.

"We heard one bomb. And then my friend called (to tell) me that they had bombed the military camp close to her house," she remembers.

Like many other African students stuck in Ukraine, the 19-year-old had to flee the war the same day, as bombs started to rain down on Ukraine. Following a long and arduous 10-day journey, the Nigerian student eventually made her way to Germany via Poland.

One-way ticket

At first, things were going well, considering the difficult circumstances. While registering at the social office in the western German city of Leverkusen she met an elderly German doctor who agreed to be her host.

Not discouraged by the pains of abruptly having to leave Ukraine, she petitioned to have her academic transcript sent to her so she could continue with her education in Germany.

But Majekodunmi was in for a surprise: a maze of bureaucratic hurdles meant she could not prove her studies in Ukraine to German authorities. The dean of the university wasn't sympathetic to her situation, either, refusing to make any exceptions to standard procedures, regardless of the situation.

In fact, Majekodunmi would have to go back to Ukraine to gather the paperwork she needed. She knew very well that she wasn't going to do that.

A bureaucratic nightmare

Undeterred, she spent her time online contacting universities in Germany, using whatever little paperwork she had available to prove her academic standing.

"I was able to use like my WAEC (West African Examinations Council) results, and bring other things to apply for universities here," she explains, adding that her university credit book was the closest type of documentation she could produce. However, it was written in Ukrainian.

"So, they told me ... that means I would have to translate it, and send a photocopy of it as well," she recalls.

Eventually, following many steps, Majekodunmi was admitted to the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg to study applied biology. In addition to being taught in English, the undergraduate course is also tuition-free — but isn't the path she had originally embarked on.

A new path

The medical studies that Majekodunmi had started in Ukraine remain on hold. She says she doesn't know what comes next but remains optimistic.

"I am a very determined person. For now, I am starting this degree. No degree is useless," she tells DW. "I can have three degrees if I want or four or even more, and at the same time try to learn the (German) language."

Majekodunmi's parents in Nigeria, however, are devastated that she had to start over, studying for a non-medical degree. They had hoped that studying abroad meant that she could finish her degree sooner rather than later.

"There is nothing I can do right now about the whole situation," she explains while stressing that she believes that God has a plan for her.

Grateful for new opportunities

Her confidence in the future perhaps stems from the fact that she is used to her life taking unpredictable twists and turns: Majekodunmi had never had any intentions of studying in Ukraine in the first place.

But when her secondary school results were released, her parents encouraged her to consider universities outside Nigeria, as she had achieved outstanding marks.

"Private universities are so expensive. It was better for them to send me abroad where they have much better education, and where it is way cheaper than at some of these private universities that we have in Nigeria," Majekodunmi told DW about what factors led her to starting her degree in Ukraine.

Just two years later, she finds herself not in Nigeria, not in Ukraine but in Germany. A major war that would truncate her studies was not part of the plan.

Still, she is grateful that she has the opportunity to forge on with her education:

"All I need do is get my bus ticket. It's free education. I am left to just having to pay for my rent and food, and I'm going to find a job and work," she tells DW with determination.

All alone in a new country

Majekodunmi is rather used to having to deal with adversity on every corner of her life. She came to a foreign country where she didn't speak the language to go to university. She had no friends or relatives there either. Then aged 16, Majekodunmi had to grow up fast.

But when the war in Ukraine broke out, she felt completely out of her depth. There is no preparing for a life-changing event like this. That day, she found herself suddenly having to make her way to the city of Lviv in the west of the country, traveling on a packed train with everyone in a state of panic.

"Everything was chaotic. I got to Lviv in the middle of the night, hearing sirens on my way," she told DW. In Lviv, she was planning to get on a bus to Poland, using a ticket her sister, who lives in Poland, had booked for her.

However, that journey would turn out to be even more traumatizing:

"I was the only black person inside the bus, and they were just giving me this weird stare. I felt really very down because I was the only one," she said. "I was tired, hungry, thirsty, no one was there to talk to, no one was there to help. So, the whole thing was really bad."

Determined and focused

But Majekodunmi is here to tell the tale. She remains focused on the future, and on soldiering on with her life.

Asked what's next after completing her applied biology degree in three years' time, Majekodunmi says she ultimately wants to get back to studying medicine - however, she doesn't believe that this will happen in Ukraine. 

"After three years, I will be able to grasp the (German) language. So, I'll continue my medical education in Germany."

Edited by Sertan Sanderson