Pounds and Dollars

One of the most difficult things to do in Nigeria is access foreign currency. This scarcity and lack of utility of our own currency outside of Nigeria makes our currency unappealing to most people.

So, immediately you leave Nigeria, there's hardly any use for the currency. I believe at the borders between neighbouring countries, Naira holds some relevance but it is generally not useful beyond the shores of the continent.

So, whenever you want to travel out of Nigeria, you need to swap your Naira for dollars. This will be the first time I have ever had to make this kind of transaction, so I am understandably somewhat nervous about it.

Getting dollar bills from the bank requires a very tedious process and a lot of paper work. The solution is to get from independent vendors that mark up the price and sell to people who need it urgently.

I don't know the entire trading process but I have heard that there's also an arbitrary trading route that some independent vendors use where they buy the dollar at the bank rate and then sell at an inflated rate. Through this route, they squeeze out a small stack of profit; I'm not sure about the legalities surrounding this type of trade but it is very common here.

This means that any hope of getting my hands on the dollar will either require following the long process at the banks or doing it instantly at a marked up price. The reason for this is largely because of Dollar scarcity in the country.

Getting Currency

I'd have normally liked to have pounds on me but it looks like that won't be the case. Pounds exchange rate is a bit higher than dollars and it is also scarcer, which in turn marks up the already marked up price.

I've been told that I can simply go to the UK with a couple of dollars on me to exchange while also converting a small stack of cash to pounds that we'll use for easy movement when we arrive.

There's still a lot to plan towards our movement but things are looking good for now. I've only recently sold all the liquid Hive and HBD at my disposal.

I'll continue holding them in Dollars while I prepare to sell them. I'll keep you updated about what happens next.