Since the re-designing of the N1, 000, N500 and N200 notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), scarcity of the new notes has been a pain in the neck of the citizens who spend more time in banking halls, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) galleries and Point of Sale (PoS) terminals for withdrawals. Poor sales, damage of perishable goods and inability of many individuals and families to feed are common complaints; PAUL OKAH reports.
The situation of the country today regarding the redesigning of the N1, 000, N500 and N200 notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) can best be described as a confusing one as Nigerians have been left up creek without paddle.
All over Nigeria, there is a common complaint; citizens are hungry and angry over the unavailability to access the new Naira notes needed for transactions and for them to feed their families and meet other basic daily needs.
If not customers fighting in banking halls over the inability to access their hard earned money, it would be elderly men and women weeping over the unavailability of cash to pay for their medications and wards in different hospitals.
To make matters worse, traders of perishable items have been losing money over low patronage as those who are supposed to patronise them is either queuing before ATM galleries and PoS points or lamenting fuel scarcity.
Even the old notes people have been hanging on to for transactions ceased to be legal tender on Tuesday as the CBN dropped the bombshell that the February 10 deadline will not be extended, leaving Nigerians more confused than before.
Fishermen’s lamentations
On February 14, which is observed as St Valentine’s Day, a day to show love to one’s neighbours, family, friends and colleagues, artisanal fishermen operating along the Atlantic coastline in Niger Delta had no love to show anyone and instead choose hatred, as they lamented the hardships they had been facing as a resort of the CBN’s cashless policy crippling their vocation.
The Niger Delta coordinator, Artisanal Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN), Rev. Samuel Ayadi, told newsmen in Yenagoa that fuel and cash scarcity had dealt heavy blows on fishermen.
He said since CBN’s introduction of ₦20,000 maximum daily withdrawal, fishermen had found it impossible to raise cash to fuel their outboard engines for fishing expeditions, saying members of the association had suspended fishing because of the exorbitant cost of fuel and scarcity of cash.
“Our fishermen in the rural areas cannot survive the exorbitant cost of fuel which is currently above ₦500 per litre and the second obstacle is the ₦20,000 withdrawal limit. Our fishing depends heavily on petrol-fuelled outboard engines which require at least 200 litters on a fishing trip and that amounts to N100, 000 for just one boat.
“Raising such cash from few Point of Sale terminal operators has been a challenge. There are no banks here in the creeks. Rural coastline fishing camps and our business activities are dominated by cash. For two weeks now, we have pulled out of the waters and do not know what to do.”
In Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, scores of retail fish sellers under the aegis of the Association of Fish Sellers, also protested the rejection of the old naira notes, which had affected their business.
Speaking on behalf of the fish traders, Mrs. Rasheedat Oyebola lamented their inability to carry out transactions with the old naira notes due to the CBN cashless policy, stating that many businesses had shut down, adding that both the banks and the wholesalers had refused to accept the old notes for transactions.
“We have tried all that we could but to no avail. That is why we have decided to go around today to explain our plights to Nigerians, so the CBN governor can have mercy on us. Some of us here today are single parents and we have been struggling all our lives. If our cash is refused as legal tender, we may die. We appeal to everyone who can help us to, as a matter of urgency, come to our aid,” she said.
Protests
On Tuesday in Abuja, after a press conference was held by the Civil Society Organisations Central Coordinating Council (CSOCCC), with the National Coordinator, Obed Okwukwe, accusing 10 unnamed governors of masterminding protests against the currency policy in their states, a protest by supporters of the new naira policy turned bloody as street urchins invaded the venue and attacked the protesters.
The protesters had set out to march to the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation when they were attacked with cudgels, axes and other dangerous weapons, with journalists and protesters fleeing the scene and an unknown number of persons reportedly injured.
An eyewitness, Audu Emmanuel, said, “The thugs came out from nowhere and attacked our peaceful march. They were hitting everyone in sight, snatching phones, bags and everything they could lay their filthy hands on, especially the women. We believe the governors who were watching the press conference live mobilised these thugs. They may have been heading for the venue but met us on the march and attacked us.
“This should not be allowed in a city like Abuja. We had earlier accused the governors of mobilising violence and they have proved our intelligence right. The security agencies must rise to the occasion and stop them before it is too late.”
CBN defiant
The crisis surrounding the naira redesign worsened on Tuesday as the CBN failed to clarify the legal tender status of the old notes, as the development created more confusion across the country, amid the refusal by banks, filling stations, and traders to accept the old currencies.
During a meeting with members of the diplomatic community in Abuja on Tuesday, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, ruled out further extension of the deadline stipulated for the phasing out of the old N1, 000, N500 and N200 notes, but was however silent on the legal tender status of the old naira notes, saying that the economic shock triggered by the naira scarcity was temporary and necessary to encourage a more cashless economy.
To effectively drive a cashless economy, the governor submitted that the money in circulation should be around N700 billion to N1 tillion, appealing to members of the diplomatic community for support in ensuring the success of the cashless policy.
The CBN governor also said that Point of Sale agents who charged above N200 for the CBN cash swap programme would be arrested and jailed when caught, adding that PoS operators could come to the CBN to be compensated for any extra cost incurred in getting the new notes rather than levying a higher fee on customers.
He said, “No doubt there are pockets of pressure in some areas. The CBN is working hard to shift pressure and resources to those areas in order to ease the tension. The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents. There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 10.
“We have also noticed that some Nigerians are capitalising on the time transition to charging exorbitant fees. These selfish actions for personal monetary gains are causes of hardship for Nigerians and come at the expense of lives and livelihood,’’ he said, assuring that the bank would provide the optimal amount of cash to support economic activities.
“The CBN will create the availability of an appropriate optimal amount of currency of N500, N200, N1000 denomination and even the existing 100-naira notes, 50 and 20 naira to support economic activities. We will continue to issue and circulate new notes but once we get to our optimal level, or slightly above, we will seek to put in place a policy that people must not keep monies in their homes.
“What happens is that when suspicious transactions are reported by the bank to the NFIU, the EFCC and ICPC are obligated to pick those suspicious transactions and investigate them. But of course, what we found in the course of investigating them, those who thought that they were being investigated for those suspicious transactions began to abandon the banks and began to build vaults in their homes.
“That is the reason we’ve seen currency outside the banking industry at N2.72 trillion out of N3.32 trillion. This is unacceptable, we want a situation where the CBN is in firm control of the money supply and like I keep saying we have our data.
“We have started to arrest PoS agents charging above N200 for transactions. We will prosecute them, and they will go to jail. And that stamping money will also go to jail. We shouldn’t take advantage to create pain for people who genuinely want to conduct their economic activities in the country.”