By Olayode Inaolaji
THE present quagmire of dearth of cash in Nigeria is disturbing. One can profess that the Federal Government of Nigeria under the leaderahip of General Muhammadu Buhari has a lackadaisical attitude towards it. The question being asked by the majority of Nigerians is: Will the government not take swift action to remove the hapless hoi polloi from the deep pit of discomfort? This present situation of scarcity of the new naira notes is like death that has no deference for anyone. The opulent and the average people are now equal. They both maintain queues in banks, wanting to withdraw money from the Automated Teller Machines(ATM). Having a humongous amount of money in the bank without having access to its withdrawal due to the menace of the scarcity of the new naira notes or indispensable ATM is disheartening and it is the primary problem being encountered by the affluent as well this time around.
Indubitably, the problem has hamstrung massive numbers of people from providing for their family and personal needs. It is an understatement to say that people are suffering and smiling; the people are suffering with no giggles registered on their faces. The changing of the naira notes has created more harm than good for the people and the economic condition of the country as well. Sadly, I heard of a patient who gave up the ghost because she wasn’t given proper attention in a hospital due to inability to pay because of the cash scarcity. Frankly, I didn’t support the redesigning or changing of the colour of the naira notes that occurred now that the Buhari-led administration is about to end because of the political tone I envisaged might be underneath. Why should the development come when it is just some months before Gen. Muhammadu Buhari packs his luggage out of the Aso Rock? Was this not done to heap filth on the All Progressives Congress (APC) so that the party will look evil in the sight of Nigerians? Is that not a political gimmick taken on the ground of ethnicity to hinder the chances of Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu? These are the questions begging for answers.
In the 2019 gubernatorial election in Oyo state, if one could divulge the crystal fact without any ounce of trepidation, the major factor that enabled the incumbent governor of the state, Seyi Makinde, to fortuitously mount the gubernatorial mantle of Oyo State was the pangs inflicted on the state government workers and the people generally under Senator Abiola Ajimobi-led administration. Consequently, people said that the All Progressives Party (APC) was not people-minded, and votes were massively cast by the people for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Have Nigerians not been deriding APC because of Buhari’s maladministration in Nigeria? Economic downturn, insecurity, joblessness, fuel price hike, scarcity of cash, poor infrastructural amenities among others are the features of Buhari’s administration. Nonetheless, there is no administration or administrator without its or his Achille heels but the bad experience encountered during Buhari’s stint is immensurable. Recently, a video clip of a man in a bank who, out of frustration, undressed his cloth, “buba” in the Yoruba language, sat on the counter and yelled that the bank should give him his money with immediate alacrity, hit the airwaves. This action is comic and, in another view, awful. I wonder how his children would feel when the video clip is being watched by them. In my view, it can be regarded as a “public self-disgrace” done to tarnish one’s image.
This scarcity of naira notes has even turned commercial banks into religious houses. A picture was taken in a commercial bank where some people were observing prayer. They observed what is called “Solat”, one of the five pillars of Islam. What I think necessitated that was the fear of not being counted out of the queue. But was the action normal? Also, the most mind-blowing video clip on the social media platforms shows a lady unscrupulously undressing in a bank, publicly displaying what ought to be kept private. She began to shout: “Give me my money, close my account, my children didn’t go to school yesterday, they didn’t go today.” Following this episode, a sympathetic banker got emotionally captured and she ordered her to follow him. What they did after that didn’t appear in the video clip I watched online. For how long shall we experience this?
Last week, commoners were pushed to the wall and they launched a protest which was turned into an orgy of violence by men of the underworld in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State. Unfortunately, it reportedly claimed the life of one person and left many injured. This is somber and it has been condemned by Engr. Seyi Makinde. The protest launched by the people is an indication that people are in discomfort. The deadline for the collection of old notes was shifted to February 10, yet the new naira notes are yet to reach the general public. As the hardship lingers, it is pertinent to ask: Are the bank managers or officials stopping the new naira notes from being circulated? If yes, the Federal Government should take swif action in bringing those banks and the bank officials to book. If the government fails to do that, a national protest may be launched which may worsen the security condition of the country to an irreparable degree.
At this juncture, the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are enjoined to work hand in hand to alleviate the problem of the cash scarcity being encountered by the people. The earlier that is done, the better it will be.
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