PunchNG: As dollar scarcity worsens in Nigeria, parents who have children aken their frustrations to banks, with some of them weeping openly, as Saturday PUNCH observed.

Investigations by our correspondents revealed that the frustrations by some parents who cannot access forex to send to their children abroad have brought out their emotional sides, while affected students have been crying out for help in foreign lands.

When one of our correspondents visited some banks along Muritala Muhammed Way, Unity Road and Taiwo Road in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Wednesday and Thursday, some bank customers, who were there to buy dollars, expressed disappointments at the scarcity of the currency.

One of the customers, Alhaja Salamatu Ajibola, who practically broke down in tears, lamented that the education of her two children schooling in the United States had been threatened by the development.

She added that her children had been going without food due to her inability to send them money for their upkeep.

Ajibola said that it had been difficult for her to send her children dollars for their personal and educational needs. She said she had visited one of the banks several times, hoping to send dollars to her children, only to be told that the currency was insufficient to meet customers’ demands.

Another tearful parent, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH on the condition of anonymity, in a first generation bank in Bauchi State, said it had become impossible for him to meet the financial needs of his children schooling abroad.

She said she was seeking other ways of sending money abroad due to the difficulty she was facing in getting dollars to send to her children.

“Our children abroad are crying and we parents are also crying,” she said.

“They are confused and we are also confused because we can’t send money to them and they can’t receive. They are in misery, hunger and depression.

“They can’t even feed well because they can’t get money for their upkeep.”

She, therefore, called on the government to “create an escape route so that children will not continue to suffer.”

Also, Mr. Jimoh Abdulganiyu, whose son is studying medicine in Ukraine, said he could not get dollars, even at the black market, to send to him.

Abdulganiyu said his son was given a warning letter by the school authorities over delay in payment of accommodation fees and he risks being asked to vacate the dormitory soon.

He expressed fears of the possibility of buying fake dollars because of the pressure of getting dollars, which has been pushing parents to the parallel market.

He said, “Sometimes, I would get to the bank by 6.40am, before the official opening hour, to stand a good chance of getting dollars through the Western Union or Money Gram.

“And this does not mean that I would automatically get the dollars, I still have to lobby before I could get it. Even at that, there is a limit to the amount I can get.”

One of our correspondents, who visited two commercial banks in the Sabo, Yaba area of Lagos on Thursday, observed that there were no dollars for sale. Sabo is a black market hub for forex activities in Lagos.

There, a 65-year-old man, Mr. Obafemi Solomon, who also expressed frustration with the situation, struggled to fight back tears as he narrated his ordeal.

Solomon said he was indebted to some of his friends in the United States, where his daughter was schooling.

Solomon said his friends had had to bail him out of the financial problem because he felt it was unwise to exchange naira for dollars at the present exchange rate.

He said, “What I am doing right now is to beg my friends who are in the US to help me pay for my daughter’s tuition. It does not make any sense to change naira for dollars and send to her. There is even no dollar to buy.”

A pensioner, Mr. Olu Ajibade, who resides in Ekiti, also shared his plight, saying things had not been this tough in the past four years that his son had been in Middlesex University, London.

Calling for the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, Ajibade said, “Now we rely on the black market and the forex rate is very high. If you don’t go to them then you are left to face the bank and they have so many rules you have to oblige to before you can get money from them.

“You will have to fill so many forms, get a letter from the school and go through so many rigorous processes. With that, it is not even guaranteed that you would get money from them. Honestly, it is not easy at all. Unfortunately, there are no other alternatives. The black market that could have been an alternative is not properly funded. The truth is that if you want to buy £3,000 in the black market, they tell you that they don’t have more than £800. For instance, we needed to pay school fees of about £10,000 but all we could do was pay half because of the scarcity of foreign currency.”

A Nigerian student studying in a US university, Adebayo Kabiru, told Saturday PUNCH that he would have gone bankrupt if not for the menial jobs he was doing.

In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, Kabiru said, “My parents have not been able to send me money since January. At a point, I got frustrated, but I had to do something. So now, I do some menial jobs to pay for my upkeep.”

Also, a student studying in Russia, who spoke with Saturday PUNCH, said she was about to be deported because her visa had expired and her parents could not send her money to renew it.

She said, “My father has been trying to send me money for the past two weeks for me to settle my visa problem and other things, but has been unable to do so. I am about to be deported and when that happens, I will lose the opportunity of rounding off my last session here in Russia.”

Simon Uwem, a student studying for his Master’s degree at a university in Indiana, US, revealed that Nigerian students abroad have been having rough times.

He said, “I have been able to survive because I have a research position in school and I get paid very well. I was hired by the school for the job. The truth is that if you are intelligent, you will survive.

“But it has been so tough for some students here. Asking your parents for $1,000 means they need to look for N400,000. Some students don’t even get to hear from their parents any longer. They have resorted to doing menial jobs or marrying Akata (American citizens) here.

“A professor recently spoke to me about getting more foreign students from Africa and I told him that finance had become a challenge even if such students get scholarships. A textbook here costs up to $200. It has been quite tough.”

Firefire:
The promised change is a scams, all can see now.


This administration low economic skill as evidence is her many policy somersault shows APC is 'suegbe-pako'

Firefire:



Please where do you expect the dollars to come from ?

modath:



Fire, you are quick to use the term "hypo /Jik" but what is this one you swing from thread to thread with divergent opinions about USD scarcity?

Where is the Forex supposed to come from when oil is trading @ 32$ (minor miracle) , the country almost entirely depend on just the proceeds from this single commodity & I'm 100% sure you in your personal capacity produces nothing worthy of export!!

Chill "high chief" (jury is still out on that one,) there is life outside of your angst/bitterness/beed with Tinubu.... you can't keep harping on that, free your mind & live your life!! not everything is political! Pele!

Firefire:


How to do expect any Nigerian to export anything in this hardship and economic conditions ? How do you compete favorably in the international market ?



As much as I sympertize with this administration, I will surely not shy away from my strong opposition stand, we warned Nigerians not to return back to Egypt & slavery, they refused to listen. See the nemesis now.

CBN no longer independence to marshal its best policy, but rather take orders from the dullard.

modath:



High chief of neverlandd, what are you producing? If you have, exporting it won't be a problem, People who are into cashew export are making a killing right now so don't peddle falsehood, the problem is that most people became over reliant on cheap oil proceeds & didn't look for alternatives before now..

Why did you also sidestep your earlier assertion? Ba sincerity of purpose ko?


Mr wailer up there, schooling abroad is a luxury!! that your country's educational standard is falling & you choose to seek alternative (great decision) is cool, but it doesn't make it less of a luxury!!!!

Some things are just common sense & logic, wailing, nit picking & bitching about everything isn't opposition...

blueto:


what about those on stationary and immutable stipend?
those(like pensioners) that have been detached from labour market due to their trivial exuberant prowess?

how will they engage in export to source for a plethora of pecuniary?


besides, the foremost reason why the parents are now despondent is due to the seldom nature of dollar. They are now impeded from procuring sufficient quantum to dispatch to their kids.
so how is your averment analogous to this premise?

Please, repeal this motive of vindicating national adversities! its ludicrous and farcical.

Qualer:

www.nairaland.com/attachments/3420971_idiotegusikanayomeme600x337_jpegece963d81f25ba2f9eb5ad31f9382577

blueto:

amusing!

Anyway, that is impeccably unfeasible.

modath:



High chief of neverlandd, what are you producing? If you have, exporting it won't be a problem, People who are into cashew export are making a killing right now so don't peddle falsehood, the problem is that most people became over reliant on cheap oil proceeds & didn't look for alternatives before now..

Why did you also sidestep your earlier assertion? Ba sincerity of purpose ko?


Mr wailer up there, schooling abroad is a luxury!! that your country's educational standard is falling & you choose to seek alternative (great decision) is cool, but it doesn't make it less of a luxury!!!!

Some things are just common sense & logic, wailing, nit picking & bitching about everything isn't opposition...

Firefire:

You grant loan to farmers at 26-30% interest rate and expect to export to compete with countries with 2-5% loan interest rate. What a joke.

modath:


PMB has only spent 8mths in 17yrs of post miltary rule, how is the crazy & unprofitable for Agro biz folks interest rate regime his fault

So you were in yonder all these while & never saw anything wrong till the evil nest of killers you support lost the centre!!

BTW, I'm finding it hard to believe that you have the kind of resources to sponsor a candidate in an election & also have the time to spend here to lament in a woe begotten manner all day, everyday... & even if you do, you only did as an investment (looter by association)which implies that you are as bad as the man you wail about everyday...

Mirror, mirror, who is fairer of them all, look deep at the reflection, high chief stone thrower.

Let go of political ****** & find alternative source(s) of income!! SMH!!

Firefire:





Cc: Tonyebarcanista, help our sister to douse her unbelief.

(Aigbagbo bilaa, temi lolu'wa) some of us are really addicted here, with a humble beginning.

God bless Nairaland.

As for PMB, oti fi Ori ko 'japping', he takes the blame of the past administration having come on the platform of CHANGE.

What measure has he introduced to correct the anomalies ? NOTHING but pictures of him touring the globe, what a wrong choice of president.

TonyeBarcanista:

Typical of Lady Modath! She always dismiss those that shr disagrees with. No need for you to let go of your cover. Lol

modath:


PMB has only spent 8mths in 17yrs of post miltary rule, how is the crazy & unprofitable for Agro biz folks interest rate regime his fault

So you were in yonder all these while & never saw anything wrong till the evil nest of killers you support lost the centre!!

BTW, I'm finding it hard to believe that you have the kind of resources to sponsor a candidate in an election & also have the time to spend here to lament in a woe begotten manner all day, everyday... & even if you do, you only did as an investment (looter by association)which implies that you are as bad as the man you wail about everyday...

Mirror, mirror, who is fairer of them all, look deep at the reflection, high chief stone thrower.

Let go of political ****** & find alternative source(s) of income!! SMH!!

TonyeBarcanista:

Typical of Mo,She always dismiss those that she disagrees with. No need for you to let go of your cover. Lol

modath:


I have where my loyalty aligns with but i'm still temperate & objective... I however "disagree with baseless crap""

Anyone can claim anything on an anonymous forum..... .... Fire is a long moneyed (but powerless paperweight political godfather) Me mah a be space engineer + astrophysicist.

Firefire, since OBJ failed in his bid to stop Tinubu's momentum (he is waxing stronger), do you think taking up permanent residency on NL to moan will solve anything...

Achuwa1:
Weep no more parents,coz there are lots of universities,polytechnics & college of education here in Nigeria..
They should all withdraw there lads from all those oversea schools coz they are using those kids studies oversea to delapiidate the little foreign reserve we have tht would have being used @ forex for importation of important goods into the country,,,
only students going to study professional courses & those going for research with guarantee tht they will return to practise should only be given preference...
why should a student be going abroad to study political sc.,sociology,etc with our foreign reserve s going down the drain.,,abeg let them withdraw all of them & send to schools in Nigeria,,afterall,there are still gud private universities here if u feel u dont like govt. Owned schools..