It is very sad that Nigerians have been subjected to avoidable suffering and misery as a result of the current naira squeeze occasioned by the flawed implementation of the naira redesign policy. Nigerians are passing through a very difficult phase in the history of the country to the extent that they have money in the banks but cannot access or use them. Some of the banks’ online channels for money transfers and other transactions are not working effectively in a period of a cashless economy. The cash crunch is steadily killing businesses and Nigerians. The politics of the naira redesign policy has taken the shine off the laudable initiative ostensibly aimed to curb vote buying, illicit financial transactions that are likely to fuel kidnapping, banditry and terrorism. The rich and the poor are feeling the negative impacts of the implementation of the naira redesign policy as well as the naira swap, which according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), terminated on February 10 despite the Supreme Court’s interim injunction extending the deadline.
Instead of the apex court saying something definite on the naira swap and when it will end, the bank Wednesday adjourned the matter till February 22. Confusion and more confusion over the naira swap deadline. And there will be more confusion in the days ahead. While some Nigerians accept both the old and the new naira notes, some reject the old notes and accept the new ones. The dilemma now is that both the new naira notes and the old ones are in short supply.
Nigerians now hoard the naira, whether new or old. For you to get the naira at the POS, you must be willing to part with N1000 for N10,000. The charge per transaction can be more depending on which part of the country you reside. Apart from the American dollar, naira is now in hot demand and people are profiteering from our poor naira. The operators of the POS hitherto neglected by some Nigerians have become the new money kings because of the acute shortage of the currency. No condition is permanent is a typical Nigerian adage which rings true of life in Nigeria today, this bizarre Abiku country that has defied all predictions about its dissolution or disintegration.
Nigeria is a big puzzle and full of contradictions. It is a deeply religious country yet sinners abound. While some Nigerians describe it as a secular state because it has no state religion, others describe it as a multi-religious country. Both definitions are correct. It depends on how one perceives the country. We have too many religious activities in the country that any visitor to Nigeria will easily notice our fanatical attachment to religion in the streets. Yet corruption is so rife in the country, whose inhabitants were once dubbed the happiest people on earth probably because of our famed docility in tolerating bad leaders and bad governance. Nigerians love leaders who inflict punishments on them. They even worship and praise their oppressors.
At times, they start copying the manner of speaking and dressing of their oppressors. They even defend their oppressors and buy party nomination forms for them. Having bought party forms for them, they bankrolled their primaries and now campaigning for them to be in power so that our afflictions will continue indefinitely. They should remember that no condition is permanent and that nothing lasts forever. They should remember that tomorrow is pregnant and that no moon lasts forever and that after darkness, there will be a new dawn. They should remember that there is God, who governs human affairs including the government and those in charge. They must not forget the hands that hold the universe. Our country is so rich and yet our people are so poor that Nigeria has become the poverty capital of the world. We are one of the major oil-producing nations in the world, an OPEC member, yet we import most of our petroleum products. Our four refineries are not working despite maintaining them annually or periodically with huge sums of dollars. There are no signs that the situation will change. However, there is hope. Last year, teachers in our public universities went on strike for eight months due to poor funding and poor working conditions.
Nigeria’s unemployment rate is so high at 33 percent. Most of the unemployed are the youths. This figure is likely to rise in the months ahead. We have enough arable land to grow all the foods we need, yet we spend so much on food imports annually. We import rice, wheat and sugar just to mention a few. We even import poultry, eggs and cow meat. Yet, this is a country where herders clash with crop farmers over grazing lands.
We have built so many big hospitals and centres of medical excellence, yet we spend millions of dollars on medical tourism annually. We now export medical doctors and nurses to Europe and America as well as IT experts and even teachers of all cadres. The brain drain in the health and education sectors is widening every day and our youths are so eager to leave the country at the slightest opportunity in search of better life or greener pastures. The naira crunch is affecting love and family life and even kindred and village meetings. Many Nigerians didn’t celebrate this year’s St Valentine Day because of the cash squeeze. And those who marked the day did it in a low key because of the cash crunch imposed by the state and its agencies. Businessmen and women, especially those we call traders who depend so much on cash transactions for their businesses are the worst hit by the naira crisis. Before the cash crunch kills many more Nigerians, let the CBN print more naira notes either here or abroad and flood the banking system with the new naira notes. The CBN has no other choice but to print more new naira notes. If the naira scarcity continues, it is going to affect the conduct of the polls in many ways. Many voters may decide to stay away. But many will surely decide to vote out the bad system, a system that has impoverished Nigerians and increased their misery. But they can only perform this civic responsibility if there is adequate security before, during and after the polls.
We cannot continue to suffer because of the flaws of the CBN and the deposit money banks over the implementation of the naira redesign initiative, which is good anyway but badly managed. The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, should admit that the naira redesign policy has been bungled and politicized to the extent that it has no redeeming features any more. Nigerians are angry and hungry over the acute scarcity of the new naira notes and the old ones. There is a limit to human suffering and endurance. Nigerians cannot be made to suffer simply because we are in an election season. Nigerians must not suffer because of the naira redesign policy.
The CBN and the central government should be firm on the status of the old naira notes, which some banks and government agencies and ministries are rejecting. The 2023 polls can still be free, fair and credible without imposing this hardship on Nigerians. Nigerians are already tired of recycling old and tired leaders. Good enough, President Muhammadu Buhari had in a nationwide broadcast yesterday extended the use of the old N200 note till April 10. The President also promised a free, fair and credible election with adequate security. He urged Nigerians to vote the candidate of their choice without fear of molestation. The federal government should start arresting and prosecuting those threatening and suppressing voters in certain parts of the country. Nigerians should be allowed to freely vote the candidate of their choice in the elections. Nigerians are tired of bad politicians and unpatriotic leaders. They are tired of the old order. They want a new order, a new generation of leaders who will put Nigeria on the path of growth and development. They want a Nigeria that is working, a Nigeria that every Nigerian will be proud of. Regardless of its envisaged benefits, the naira redesign policy will not be allowed to disrupt the forthcoming elections.