ON Wednesday, the Supreme Court postponed its hearing of the controversial suit on naira notes between some state governments and the Federal Government to February 22, just three days to the general election. The apex court had to give an ex-parte order to stop the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from ending the legal validity of Nigeria’s old naira notes from February 10, 2023 until the determination of a suit brought before it by the governments of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states complaining about the hardship being experienced by their citizens on account of the inability to get the new notes. Nigerians groaning under the yoke of naira and fuel scarcity had hoped that the apex court would make a pronouncement on Wednesday and force the Muhammadu Buhari administration and the CBN to show the way forward as they (Nigerians) are continually afflicted with the strange disease of having to buy money at cut-throat prices from shylock Point of Sales (POS) operators before buying food, but the apex court was forced to postpone its decision after Niger, Kano, Ondo Ekiti and Lagos states, which are controlled by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), applied to be joined as plaintiffs in the suit while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Edo and Bayelsa states applied to be joined as respondents.
Meanwhile, the protests that have attended the naira redesign crisis in recent weeks took a drastic turn as Nigerians unable to transact even the most basic of businesses turned violent on Wednesday, lighting bonfires and attacking banking premises. For instance, some protesters burnt down Access Bank, First Bank and Union Bank branches in the Udu area of Warri, Delta State. Commercial activities were brought to a halt in Ilorin, Kwara State, as aggrieved residents stormed the streets to protest naira scarcity and the rejection of old naira notes by banks in the city. Across Oyo, Ogun and other states, protesters took over major roads, ventilating their disenchantment with the state of affairs. It is just nine days to the beginning of a general election, but the country is engulfed in turmoil. Fuel is expensive and most Nigerian homes have no electricity. Worse still, even nature seems to be against them as night time has become marked by suffocating heat.
Since the patently unavoidable crisis started, Nigerians have known suffering at a very excruciating level. With no new notes to spend even as the old ones get rejected, life has become a nightmare. Some protesters have been killed by security agents while others have been dehumanised and left with severe injuries. Across the country, public property has been destroyed and President Buhari, whose request for a seven-day opportunity to fix the crisis failed spectacularly, has found no need to make a nationwide broadcast even as Nigerians literally suffer. Although the Supreme Court temporarily stopped the withdrawal of old notes, there is palpable tension across the land as traders, filling stations, restaurants and, even more instructively, the courts, have stopped collecting the old notes, giving validity to the February 10 deadline imposed by the CBN even with the contrary order by the apex court.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, declared that there was no need to extend the February 10 deadline. While briefing the diplomatic corps on currency redesign, he sued for understanding, warning against the hoarding of currency notes and stating that law enforcement agencies would arrest those disrespecting the naira. There is crisis and confusion everywhere as most banks are under lock and key and traumatised Nigerians trek harrowingly long distances, cashless and hopeless. As even the heads of critical state institutions such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Security Adviser (NSA) lament the severe limitations imposed on their operations by the scarcity of cash, it is evident that the government, regardless of the gains of the redesign policy, was not rigorous in its plan. And it must now do everything within its power to resolve the crisis, and very fast too. The possibility of massive citizens’ revolt on the eve of a general election is high, and must be avoided.
The crisis surrounding the redesigning of naira notes is threatening to become a constitutional crisis even while imposing tremendous pain on Nigerians. With the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) already filing a response contesting the jurisdiction and power of the Supreme Court to entertain the suit and give last week’s order, it is evident that the Federal Government is not inclined to follow the logic of the court’s directive on the matter. And this raises the issue of how to address the continuing agony of Nigerians with respect to getting the new notes freely for transactions. As a matter of fact, it is now the case that even when they are ready to pay the exorbitant charges imposed by POS operators, Nigerians have got accustomed to the “No cash” refrain. Of course, getting the new notes at their banks is war.
The situation has become so confounding and the whole world seeing reports of citizens stripping themselves nakedness at banks in their quest to withdraw from their own deposits must be laughing at Nigeria. It has been such a nightmarish experience leading to protests and demonstrations across the country. Evidently, the government has to do more to satisfy the requirement of making the new notes available in sufficient quantities to erase the current ugly spectacle. If, as it is being suggested, some politicians are mopping up the money once released into the system, the proper thing to do is to go after such individuals, no matter how highly placed they are, and haul them before the courts. If hunger kills the vast majority of Nigerians, there will be no election to even talk about.
Nigerians do not need to continue wallowing in an avoidable naira notes crisis even with the burden of a harrowing economic existence occasioned by the ineffective and uncaring policies of the government.
