Millions of innocent and law-abiding Nigerians did not see this coming. One is talking of course, about the Naira swap saga that has seen an unexpected wave of cash crunch visited on the long-suffering populace without the brains behind it considering the grave implications on them.
If, according to the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele the aim of the Naira redesign was to curtail slush funds in the hands of the kidnap kingpins as well as to drastically reduce the over bearing influence of money-poll-y-tricks, given the alarming rate of poverty in the country, one would say that the motive was salutary. But sad to state that the method has proved to be pain-inflicting, cruel and callous!
As expected, it has triggered anger in the land. Coming at a period when the citizens are still battling with the long queues in search of food, fuel, PVC and currently the cash crunch, not less than three people got killed in Edo state, as violent protests erupted in states across the country. Amongst the states affected include Edo, Oyo, Delta, Kwara, Ondo, Benue and Akwa Ibom.
Similarly, many protesters were injured as cars, automated teller machines (ATMs), were destroyed in Oyo, Delta, Kwara and Benue states. In other places, protesters took over Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Otukpo-Enugu road over scarcity of new naira notes while the old ones got rejected.
“This situation is not good for anyone; the industry, the government and the ordinary citizen. You will have a compounded crippling lack of patronage for the domestic manufacturer; the denial of government revenue that would have accrued from consumption taxes and the disruption of the daily life and needs of the average Nigerian.”
Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir (Director General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN)
In Oyo, protesters, mostly traders, and owners of small and medium-scale enterprises, stormed the state secretariat, Ibadan. In Kwara, the protests started at Oko-Olowo market axis and spread to the Oloje, Alore, Omoda and Adangba areas of Ilorin metropolis.
As forBenin, the Edo state capital, attempts by the protesters to attack the Benin branch of CBN was foiled by a combined team of policemen, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, with three people feared killed.
One of the protesters who gave his name as Godwin Osemwingie, said: “The problem right now is that we went to the bank to deposit old naira notes, and they said they are not accepting it and even the bus drivers are also rejecting it.”
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In Akwa Ibom, the Police released several canisters of teargas to disperse thousands of depositors who thronged banks to deposit old naira notes without success.This came as thousands of commuters were stranded in the metropolis following the rejection of the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes by Minibus and Tricycle operators across the state. The sad incident at the state CBN branch caused a serious stampede among the depositors as they ran for dear life to escape the teargas.
Though President Muhammadu Buhari in a recent live broadcast has overruled Supreme Court with reintroduction of old N200 the Central Bank of Nigeria’s silence on its position in the Naira swap policy has thrown the country into utter confusion, as business owners and other users of the currency are at a loss on whether the old Naira notes are still in use or not!
Expressing concern, the governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) led by the Chairman and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, said they feel the pains of Nigerians. He added that they were determined to employ all legitimate channels to ease the situation.
According to him, it has become necessary to make a distinction between the CBN Naira redesign policy backed by Section 20 (3) of the CBN Act, 2007 and the aspirational policy of going cashless, both of which are mutually exclusive at this time.
He said it was the governor’s considered view that what the CBN is presently pursuing is a currency confiscation programme, not the currency exchange policy envisaged under S20(3) of the CBN Act, 2007.
One’s serious concern about the clearly avoidable anarchy in Nigeria is the gross display of insensitivity and callousness on the part of the political leadership of the country that has brought unimaginable pains on the helpless and defenseless citizens. Ordinarily, the statutory mandate of government runs in sync with Section 14, Sub-section (2) (b) of the 1999 constitution as amended.
The government is therefore, supposed to act as a father-figure, to protect the citizens against all harm and provide for their welfare, more so under a democratic dispensation. Unfortunately, it has grossly failed in the regard.
As the Chief executive of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf rightly noted the small businesses and the ordinary citizens were the biggest victims of the unspeakable disruption and hardship inflicted by the impractical deadline given by the CBN on cash swap as they are the biggest users of cash.
Also giving a forecast on the impact of the situation on the real sector, Director General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said the cash flow difficulties have been affecting sales of finished domestic goods.
He explained, “I would put a rough estimate of a 25 percent drop on monthly sales of domestic goods if the situation should persist for the next three weeks. As the purchases from the retail end that are mostly transacted in cash dries up, you will immediately notice a sharp drop in wholesale purchases and instant buildup of unsold inventory in your industries.”
Similarly, the Director General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Sola Obadimu, while commending CBN for the 10 days extension, noted that the exercise has been largely and needlessly disruptive to the economy.
From all the foregoing, it has become imperative for a holistic political restructuring of the country, buoyed by true fiscal federalism. Enormous powers have to be devolved from the bloated centre to the geo-political zones and the states.
With the states controlling their resources and paying an agreed percentage tax to the centre, there will be faster economic development, catalysed by healthy competition as it played out during the First Republic. This will also reduce the tension, anguish and pains related to the recent issue of the Naira swap because they areall avoidable.
Now is the time for Nigerians to face the hard and bitter truth of what democracy really involves and let us practice it. What all the suffering in the landshows is a reflection of the legendary pop icon’s hit song that: “They don’t care about us!”
