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By Kate Halim
There’s a cash crunch in Nigeria currently as the demand for the new naira notes outweighs the supply. Some families who depend on their daily income for feeding and basic necessities are stranded. At different bus stops, business people and workers are begging other commuters for transport fares because they can’t withdraw the cash in their accounts.
The endless queues at different banks are stressing people out, the frustrations of bank workers who have to experience the wrath of angry customers yelling at them because they can’t access the money in their accounts as well as ATMs not dispensing cash have made point-of-sale (POS) operators across the country demi-gods to desperate Nigerians.
For two weeks now, POS operators have been demanding outrageous charges from customers who wish to withdraw money from them. These men and women have become gods to Nigerians who desperately need cash and are feeding off their desperation by increasing their charges for money transactions.
A painter based in Lagos who identified himself as Chimezie Okonkwo told Saturday Sun that what the POS operators are doing to Nigerians is inhumane, heartless and insensitive. Okonkwo noted that in the past, people hardly paid attention to these guys but today, they have capitalized on the scarcity of cash to fleece Nigerians of their money.
“Usually we go to POS operators to withdraw money and pay small charges for their services. Last week, one operator in my area told me that I had to pay N400 for every N3,000 I wanted to withdraw because they were new bills. That feels like using my money to buy my own money that I worked for. I quietly asked them to give me half of what I originally wanted in N100 bills. I paid for the charges and left angrily with my money,” Okonkwo lamented.
Haruna Mohammed said two days ago, he went to a major road in Ikotun, Lagos State for cash. He noted that there were over ten banks along that road and their ATMs were not dispensing cash but he saw POS operators standing in front of the banks giving out N5000 for an extra charge of N1000.
He said: “I asked three POS operators separately why they were doing this and they all said they also bought the cash from the banks. They buy N85,000 of the new naira notes for N100,000. And when I asked why the ATMs were not loaded with cash, they replied that it was an arrangement between them and the banks. I don’t know how true this is but it’s frustrating that I can’t get money when I need it without spending more.”
A food seller, Bisi Oladokun lamented the current trend of POS operators charging more to give money to people. Oladokun, a mother of four who sells food at Cele bus stop, Aguda, Surulere revealed that POS operators now charge N2,000 for every N10,000 a person demands.
She stated that when this scarcity of cash first started, they charged N500 for N10,000, then it graduated to N1, 000 for N10, 000 but now it has got to N1500 to N3000 for N10,000.
“This week, I needed to withdraw some cash since ATMs are not dispensing. I was told that it’s now N2,000 for every N10,000. I opened my mouth to say something in protest but I quickly closed it back because I have been moving from one ATM to another in search of cash to no avail. I had to pay the N2000 and was given N8000,” Oladokun said.
The mother of four is also not happy about the low patronage she has been experiencing for weeks now. She said that some of her customers beg to buy food on credit while others insist on paying through bank transfers instead of owing her. “I don’t mind being paid through bank transfers but how do I have access to this money if I can’t even withdraw it from the bank? I am losing customers and I am not happy about this.”
A civil servant, Johnson Udoh said that when people were saying POS operators now collect tithes in place of charges, he thought it was a joke until he experienced it last week.
“I went to buy fuel, and their POS had network issues, I asked for their account details to make a transfer via my bank mobile application, I tried severally, but it didn’t connect. I parked my car and went in search of roadside POS operators. Luckily, I found one who charged me N3,500 for a withdrawal of N10,000.”
Udoh revealed that for the past two weeks, he has been struggling to get cash for the upkeep of his family. He said that this week, he had to withdraw N20,000 with N5,000 charges to enable him and his wife to run their home without hassles. “It’s painful to spend so much money to withdraw your own money, but you are helpless when the banks have suddenly become useless to dispense cash. You do what you have to do to get money. Your children don’t understand that there’s cash scarcity and your wife won’t spare you either so you have to pay tithes to POS operators if you want peace at home.”
Esther Njoku is a POS operator. She said that people calling out POS operators and calling them names are just transferring aggression to the wrong people. Njoku, who started her POS business three years ago revealed that she buys cash from banks and increasing her charges is not her fault.
She said: “I buy N100, 000 for N10,000. I have contacts in four different banks in this area who supply me with cash but I have to pay them for their services. Now, they have increased it to N20,000 because the banks have limited cash. So, if I buy money from banks without increasing my charges, who will pay me for the money I spent getting money and making it available for my customers?”
Njoku said that all the blame should go to the banks and all the people trying to make money at this time at the detriment of the masses. She added that as a businesswoman, she won’t please her customers to displease herself because she is in the business to make money.
Filling stations milking Nigerians too
Mr Wisdom Irabor is frustrated with the way filling stations and their pump attendants are capitalizing on the fuel scarcity and cash crunch to make more money from Nigerians. “On Monday afternoon, I went to a filling station in my area to buy fuel and the pump attendant told me that they don’t accept bank transfers. She said I must pay cash or go to the POS operator sitting in one corner of the premises to do my transaction. When I noticed she was from my tribe, I asked her in our dialect why this is so and she whispered in my ear that their manager insisted that all of them must generate N40,000 daily from sales. Otherwise, they would lose their jobs.”
Irabor said his anger was replaced with shock and pity. He said he was shocked at the directive the pump attendants got from their manager but he also pitied them because they were just following orders and doing their best to keep their jobs. “I don’t know when we will get out of this mess but there are no winners here. The money these people fraudulently get from others will also be taken away by other people. It’s a cycle and we are all suffering.”
Mr Kayode Saka told Saturday Sun that in his area, you have to pay an extra N500 if you are buying fuel in a jerry can. He stated that it doesn’t matter how much fuel you want to buy, if you don’t agree to pay the amount to the pump attendant, they will tell you that they won’t sell to you and if you insist, other people will tell you to go away instead of wasting their time.
“I experienced this last week and it wasn’t funny. I drove into a filling station in Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos to fuel my car and also buy fuel for my generator. The guy attending to me said I had to pay N300 extra for him to fill my jerry can. I asked him why and he said that was what they were told to do. When I insisted on not paying because it was a rip-off, the cars behind me started honking and some of the people waiting to buy fuel in their jerry cans started grumbling. I had to pay and leave that place before they would lynch me,” Saka said.
In Aguda, Surulere area of Lagos, Mr Michael Idoko won’t forget in a hurry what happened when he went to one of the filling stations opposite the popular Aguda market to buy fuel recently. He revealed that when people noticed the filling station was selling fuel, they besieged the place. He added that people with jerry cans and those in their cars started queuing for fuel.
“I rushed there with my jerry can to buy fuel and stood in the queue for over 40 minutes. When it got to my turn, the lady dispensing the fuel said that I had to pay an extra N500 for my can. I refused. She then put off the pump and said she wouldn’t sell anymore. She told her colleagues to stop selling too because we were taking them for granted.”
Idoko said he was shocked and angry. He angrily told the lady that God would punish her for being so wicked and insensitive to the plight of people. He said they continued to exchange words but he noticed that some of the people around blamed him for what happened and told him to pay what the lady demanded so that they could buy fuel and leave the place.
“Thirty minutes later, the lady started selling fuel to other people but insisted she wouldn’t attend to me and that I should go to the next pump so that her colleague would attend to me. I thought she was joking but she didn’t flinch. I spent another ten minutes watching her sell fuel to other people. I then begged her to forgive me and sell to me. I promised to pay the amount she requested. She then sold it to me and collected her money. I don’t know where we are headed in this country but things are getting worse.”
