Parents With Children Schooling Abroad Weep in Banks As Dollar Scarcity Worsens

As the dollar scarcity in Nigeria gets worse by the day, parents who have children schooling abroad have taken their frustrations to banks, with some of them reportedly weeping openly.

According to Punch, a mum in Lagos, 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.

Mr. Jimoh Abdulganiyu, whose son is studying medicine in Ukraine, also 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.”

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Another 65-year-old dad, Mr. Obafemi Solomon, 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.”

Another tearful parent in Bauchi who preferred to be anonymous said,

“Our children abroad are crying and we parents are also crying. 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 called on the government to “create an escape route so that children will not continue to suffer.”