• Travellers devise unusual means to
survive crises
• Operators blame CBN’s forex policy
Air passengers were thrown into
confusion at the weekend when Bureau
de Change (BDC) outlets at international
airports nationwide declared foreign
exchange, especially dollar, out of stock.
Notable BDCs like Travelex, Sulah, Bossy
Clean Exchange and Ibro Resources that
had often sold at about N400 to a dollar,
all declared “no dollar” to all outbound
passengers.
Intending passengers travelling on
business trips were forced to devise
alternative means to go on with their
travel plans or simply returned home
after loitering around the unyielding
BDCs.
Travel agents, who blamed the BDCs for
hoarding, were worried about the
development, describing it as “killing”
to the air travel business and loss of
revenue to parties concerned.
A visit to the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport (MMIA), Lagos,
yesterday revealed that though the BDCs
were open to customers, none of them
was ready to sell. Electronic boards
indicated “we buy N398 to $1” and “sell
for N400 to $1.” Except for Travelex
that boldly pasted: “Sorry, we are out of
stock”, others merely turned back
travellers with “no dollar” response.
An official of Sulah BDC told The
Guardian that they had no dollar to sell
because “people have failed to sell to
us.”
A Dubai-bound passenger, Elizabeth,
said the BDCs had often been the most
reliable source for travellers to get
dollar and at comparatively good rate,
but was surprised to find them with no
stock since last week.
She said: “I’ve been searching for a
dollar equivalent of just N4 million
since last week. I was actually prepared
to travel only to find that there was no
dollar anywhere. Ordinarily, Travelex
would still have given $1000 if you can
prove that you are travelling and go on
to buy from others at higher rates. This
time, none of them wanted to sell a
cent. It is so pathetic.”
Meanwhile, on the streets and outside
the airport, mobile BDCs otherwise
called mallams were selling in trickles of
$100 at N510 to N550.
Eniola Adesanya, who is bound for
United States, had to do “trade by
barter” with some overseas-based
family members planning to send some
money to their relatives in Nigeria.
Adesanya told The Guardian that the
method was her saving grace. “I had to
start calling them to ask if they plan to
send money to Nigeria. It is like giving
them a loan, which I have paid to their
relatives here. So, they will give me a
refund in dollar in the United States.
“It was through the same means that I
bought a ticket from the U.S. There is no
dollar here and the airline is not
accepting naira for purchase. My
method is funny, but otherwise I would
still not be able to travel, as the visa will
soon expire. It is so crazy around here.
May God have mercy,” she said.
The President of the National
Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies
(NANTA), Bernard Bankole, blamed the
situation on artificial scarcity that
should not have happened in an ideal
setting.
According to Bankole, “There is no
reason for this scarcity because the
official rate has not moved and the rate
we get tickets has not gone up either.
The official rate is still at N305 or N306
and the black market is doing at N520
to N525. But the round tripping has
increased. So, people are envisaging
that there may be devaluation so that
they can make more money. That is the
unfortunate situation.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is
holding the country to ransom, and it is
a shame. I believe if they have lost how
to manage their forex policy, they
should just resign and go away, rather
than put the whole nation to shame.
Because that is exactly what we are
seeing now,” he said.
