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Some of us have been around since our country became an independent country, and we can confirm that at no time have the citizens been put through the level of hardship and agony they have been forced to pass through by a government they elected to pursue their well-being.
No consultations, little explanation and then a policy on currency redesign with few days to a general election, where the presidential poll will be the first. The timing was enough to raise suspicion and it indeed did raise quite a lot across the country. Why must such a policy come at this time, why didn’t the administration do it all these years it has been in office? Why now with few months, precisely four months to the end of its tenure? Others ask if this policy is actually necessary, beyond forcing into circulation hidden or stored away stolen funds by the conscienceless leading elites. Could it improve foreign exchange earnings in any way? If it is necessary as government officials seem to say, is it expedient at this point? In other words, must it happen at this point in our national life given other serious matters at hand?
Another section of the citizens wanted to know if it was administratively wise for the country to deal with two critical matters, currency redesign and election at almost the same time. The view of acclaimed bureacrats is that it doesn’t make administrative sense at all, especially when it is known both events possess high ability to substantially affect the well-being of the citizens in a most dramatic manner, having capacity to swing the people’s well-being further into the positive side or pull it in the reverse direction, creating in the process far greater dislocations and pains. Currently the outcome is not pleasant at all, there is massive suffering in the land.
Government says it was a well-planned exercise and that the money it printed was enough but the street stories are different, if anything. It would seem like the government elected into power has chosen to give the people tigers as pets. Citizens have virtually been drained by hunger. They can›t lay hands on commodities needed for daily living. The sick are dying because they have no money to pay for much required treatment.
The bad side to all of this is the fact that the victims may work hard to legitimately earn income but suddenly they realize it is very possible to have money and not be able to have access to it when you desperately need it. The agreement between a bank and its customers has been shattered and thrown into the dustbin. Some guess that after this excruciating ordeal many citizens will doubt if the country truly means well for her people.
The banks say they don›t have enough cash, that what they receive they give out to customers. If what we see is anything to go by then it is either the government represented by the Central Bank actually didn›t do enough in terms of planning and execution, or it is a case of crude politics or still a case of somebody playing games with the destiny of over 200 million citizens. Many of us have left the realm of conjectures, believing strongly that this ugly development is a contrived crisis.
First, it nonsensical to push currency redesign on the of a presidential poll, that point we have made much earlier. It is irresponsible to embark on the exercise without clear assurance about ability to print the required quantity of money needed to meet the demand of the public. The Central Bank has already disclosed the the printing corporation hasn’t the ability to meet national requirements. So, why the haste? Even then the quality of the ones printed leaves much to be desired. It has been revealed that the brother of the President’s wife was posted recently to oversee the operational activities of the Mint. Isn’t this instructive?
The development has left a sour taste in the mouth. Families stay days uncertain where the next meal will come from. A gentleman retiree told friends he had been at his bank since 4.00am, and had to walk back home by 5pm without money. He was on queue that never moved an inch all day. State of nature has virtually been reenacted. A friend, Innocent Nwankwo, aptly captures the current state of Nigeria this way: “Tuesday, February 21, 2023, I went to the Zenith Bank branch at Ihiala, Anambra State. Quite late in the day, at 1.20 pm. I met a bewildering crowd steaming and boiling with anger and exhaustion. A more sizable crowd was behind the gate, inching closer into the banking hall. A greater percentage milled before the gate with long faces and forloni mien and I could read a bottled desperation and eagerness to pull down that gate if need be. Or, better said, if somebody could dare a slight heave forward.
Today, I left the house at 6.50 am, arriving 6.55 am. I met a greater crowd. All persons were seething with suppressed anger but hopefully waiting to be called and served the elixir of life as now defined by the banks and their CBN overseer. The crowd grew in bounds as the minutes ticked. Every eye was menacingly glancing at watches and phone clocks anticipating the messianic 8 am.
As the set hour slowly arrived, shoving, pushing and rowdiness took the upper hand. The crowd was in anticipation of the herald of the opening of the gate. But nothing happened. I had begun to sweat as the airflow had suddenly stopped, given the milling crowd and dusty cloud of rising human activities. At 9 am, the bank gate was still tightly locked. Securitymen dressed in mufti were constantly shuffling around, picking their acquaintances and friends, leaving the rest of us marooned and dejected.
«I queried my 6.55 am sojourn to a court of bizarre work ethics and the epitome of the Nigerian mediocre and corrupt system. I endeavoured to determine why the few favoured customers ferried into the banking hall in askance of some like me who sought to catch the worm by shunning sleep to come early.
«I asked: when will all these end? A mere currency change that can be so seamlessly handled by other countries› fiscal managers unnoticed and without any rancour? We are a nation of misfits where substantive graduates of Islamic Studies head a Central Bank while a former Vice-Chancellor serves as a Minister of State for Education under a non-graduate,u retired journalist presiding as a substantive Minister. Here, water flows up hill.
«Finally, I left the sulking crowd having been so pedestrianly defeated, suppressed and alienated from my money. I took reluctant succour from a POS operator who decreed that I must part with N3,000 for every N10,000. II swallowed my pride, took the bitter pill and began a melancholic drive back home. Soaked in sweat, dirt and irreconcilable question as to why Nigeria still exists.”
This is a picture of just a fraction of what the citizens are going through just because the government wanted a currency redesign. Some say the exercise is teaching thieves, kidnappers and insurgents a lesson but we insist no government should inflict deadly punishment on the entire citizenry just to curb a menace. No, it is unacceptable. Corruption is not checked by currency redesignation, you do so by sound political culture that places great emphasis on sound leadership recruitment process. It is important to have leaders whose antecedents are wonderful and known to all. Society should have processes leadership aspirants must go through before they hit the commanding height of political power. Kidnapping and insurgency are crimes against humanity that must be strongly disapproved and not only arrested but seen to be highly punished.
The irony of what is currently being done while the people are made to suffer is the fact that the negative impact of the policy is not even felt by the high and powerful who have found a way to circumvent the policy; they get the cash from the corners and continue to enjoy their reckless hedonistic lifestyle. Mrs Remi Tinubu, wife of the ruling party’s presidential candidate disclosed recently that she needed N2million naira and got it from the wife of the vice presidential candidate of the same party.
This alone shows the kind country we have succeeded in creating. A country of unequals. The development is also a peep into how our leaders run our country. It brings out the wickedness in their disposition to matters of public concern. It is about scorpion rule. A case of having rulers instead of leaders. Our country is yet to be blessed with visionary leaders. Yes, we are into democracy but it is one that is not civil because there isn’t enough democrats in the system. Whoever advised the President to follow this line doesn’t like him and has very deep disdain for the people and country as a whole. This harm should be reversed immediately, not tomorrow. The cost is too much.
