David Ademola never intended to sell his poultry farm when he set out to move his family to the United Kingdom in search of better opportunities. He had put his heart and soul into building the business over the course of seven years.

Three years back, Ademola commenced saving up for his "japa" — a colloquial term for migration. He aspired to relocate his family to Manchester after a friend informed him about the promising opportunities in the UK. Ademola meticulously calculated a budget of N1.5 million for the ticket fares, encompassing himself, his wife, and their three children, with each ticket priced at N300 thousand.

In addition to his ticket fares, Ademola diligently saved for various other expenses such as visa, accommodation, food, and miscellaneous costs.

Furthermore, Ademola devised a plan to entrust his younger brother with the responsibility of overseeing the poultry business in Nigeria while he was away. He put in considerable effort to ensure the business would continue to operate smoothly during his absence, allowing him to earn a steady daily income even from afar.

Unfortunately, Ademola's well-laid plan was shattered when he discovered that his projected N1.5 million ticket fare was far from sufficient. The cost had escalated dramatically over the past two years, and he now needed to pay a staggering N7.5 million for all the tickets, as each one had increased from N300,000 to N1.5 million.

With the pressure of meeting the resumption date at his new job in Manchester, Ademola had no choice but to make a difficult decision. He had to sell his beloved poultry farm, which he considered his 'Plan B' in case things didn't work out as expected in Manchester. The farm had been his safety net, but he had to let it go to secure his family's future in their pursuit of a better life.

"It's truly heartbreaking that I have to part with my poultry farm, selling it for a mere N5 million, just to afford airfare for my family and me. The sadness is overwhelming. My younger brother has been jobless for four long years, and the poultry was his lifeline for survival once I relocated. Sadly, now there's no hope of him managing the poultry anymore."

Ademola's experience is just one of many stories where individuals have been forced to sell off a significant portion of their properties to finance airfares to the United States and UK.

Kelechi Ifediorah, another Nigerian with plans to move to Canada with his family in September, had to make a tough decision. He sold all three of his Toyota Sienna vehicles, which he used to transport passengers on the Nigeria-Ghana route, just to be able to afford air tickets to Canada.

"Ifediorah said, 'To be honest, I never planned on selling my vehicles to travel abroad, but the soaring fares left me with no choice. Since February this year, my family and I have obtained our visas for Canada, hoping for a decrease in ticket prices. Unfortunately, the opposite happened – fares kept increasing the longer I waited. In the end, I had to sell three of my vehicles, each at a price of N3 million, just to afford the airfares.'"

According to Ifediorah, the fares to the United States, which were around N500,000 two years ago, have skyrocketed to nearly N2 million now. This significant increase has compelled him to sell his vehicles to cover the additional N9 million required for airfares for himself, his wife, and their four children.

He expressed his frustration, stating, "Just imagine planning with a budget of N3 million for six of us at the rate of N500,000 per ticket, only to discover recently that the same ticket now costs almost N2 million. It means I have to bear an additional cost of N9 million. It's outrageous and deeply saddening."

The sharp rise in airfare costs from Nigeria to various destinations is attributed to the exchange rate for ticket pricing, which has surpassed N760/$.

The recent development occurred shortly after the Central Bank of Nigeria adopted a floating exchange rate system for the naira and instructed commercial banks to sell foreign exchange at market-determined rates.

As part of this move, the CBN decided to merge all forex windows into the Investors & Exporters Window.

However, in the days following this decision, the exchange rate has experienced fluctuations on the International Air Transport Association (IATA) platform, ranging from 663.04/$ to the current rate of N770/$. Consequently, airfares have become dependent on the rates within the Investors & Exporters window, which have surged to as high as N803/$.

In response to the surge in fares, several Nigerian travelers have been compelled to put their travel plans to Europe and the United States on hold.

Adding to the predicament, the airlines' trapped funds have exacerbated the situation. Airlines are now blocking low inventories (low fares) in Nigeria, making them unavailable to travelers in the country, while these same low fares remain accessible through other African ticket-selling platforms. This measure is aimed at reducing the amount of trapped funds within Nigeria.

According to recent reports from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Nigeria currently holds the highest amount of trapped funds globally, amounting to $812.2 million out of a total of $2.27 billion.

The top five countries contributing to 68.0 percent of these blocked funds are Nigeria ($812.2 million), followed by Bangladesh ($214.1 million), Algeria ($196.3 million), Pakistan ($188.2 million), and Lebanon ($141.2 million).

As airlines continue to grapple with backlogs of funds from past ticket sales stuck in the country, there are some positive signs emerging. Recent developments show that certain airlines have managed to repatriate funds from recently sold tickets, indicating that the unification of exchange rates is starting to yield positive results.

However, the situation has led to unprecedentedly high ticket prices in Nigeria. Philip Onuh expressed his concern, stating, "Never before have tickets been sold at such exorbitant rates in Nigeria. How can a Lagos to United States ticket cost over N2 million? This rise is beyond measure and seems unaffordable for the average traveler, especially during these times of economic downturn."

Onuh revealed that he had intended to visit his family in New York next month, but he had to put his travel plans on hold due to the significant increase in ticket prices.

He further explained, "I couldn't afford to bring my family over to Nigeria for the summer because the airlines had blocked all their low-priced tickets on their websites, resulting in high fare costs. Thus, I decided to visit them instead, hoping to reduce travel expenses. However, to my astonishment, when I was ready to book my ticket, I discovered that the fare had once again risen, now amounting to N2.4 million in the United States. This unexpected surge has forced me to suspend my travel plans for the time being."

For travelers who find themselves unable to cancel or postpone their travel plans, they face the daunting task of seeking funds to proceed with their journeys.

One individual, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared his difficult situation. He disclosed that he had no choice but to put up the only house he inherited from his father for sale in order to afford the fares for his family's relocation to the United States.

He acknowledged the gravity of this decision, expressing deep concerns. However, given the circumstances, he and his family firmly believe that relocating is the best option for their future well-being.