Since the beginning of the year, every day for Nigerians has not been the day the lord made. We have been fuelled purely by chaos.
One of the problems started on October 26, 2022, when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin 鈥淢effy鈥 Emefiele, announced plans to redesign the 鈧200, 鈧500 and 鈧1000 notes. A month later, the new banknotes were unveiled. Although some people predicted that it might be difficult for Nigerians to adjust to this change, no one could have foreseen the level of discomfort Meffy鈥檚 Naira makeover has caused.听
What has happened?
Naira scarcity
Nigerians have been dealing with Naira scarcity while racing against CBN deadlines of January 31, 2023, subsequently extended to .听
Despite this, Nigerians have had to take the labours of Hercules to get their hands on the new notes.听
Due to the tensions the Naira has created, some states, Kogi, Zamfara, and Kaduna, sued the Federal government at the Supreme Court over the current scarcity of banknotes.
The Supreme Court has adjourned till February 22, 2023.听
After many complaints, o President Bubu tried to channel his inner Superman by approving the use of old 鈧200 notes till April 10, 2023. But this has proven to be hardly helpful as statistics show that the old 鈧200 notes make up only of the currency volume in the last seven years.听
Meffy鈥檚 reason for the Naira redesign was to fight corruption and inflation, but so far, it seems like Nigerians have had to pay a high price for this. Let鈥檚 look at some things the Naira scarcity has cost Nigerians.
Their businesses
Since the Naira scarcity problem started, many have had to bear losses, especially those who sell perishable goods because they haven鈥檛 had enough customers.听
Some traders don鈥檛 have bank accounts, and others who do and accept transfers have faced network challenges. This situation has forced many of them to slash the prices of their goods, though they might be incurring losses. Some complained that a big cow that鈥檇 usually be sold for around 鈧400k now goes for 鈧270k.
Their lives
a 32-year-old woman, who was nine months pregnant, died in a specialist hospital in Kano because her husband didn鈥檛 have the new naira notes to pay the hospital on time.听
The woman was in labour by the time they arrived at the hospital, and her husband tried to pay the requested with the old notes but it was rejected. The hospital had no POS machine, and they asked the man to transfer the money instead, which he did. But the cashier had to wait to confirm payment. The medical personnel also refused to proceed with the treatment until the evidence of payment was brought.听
The payment wasn鈥檛 confirmed until after three hours. The hospital requested an additional fee of 鈧4000 for blood service, and the payment also had to be confirmed. This time, the man pleaded with them to proceed with the treatment, and they finally rushed her to the labour room around 1 a.m.. Unfortunately, his wife and child didn鈥檛 make it.
Their means of transportation
Many commuters have had to trek or face embarrassment from bus conductors who have refused to collect old notes. It鈥檚 2023, and our train stations still only accept cash as a payment medium. It鈥檚 almost like if you can鈥檛 pull a miracle to get cash in hand, then the best thing for you would be to stay home or exercise your leg muscles and walk.
No one knows when or if the current wave of suffering in the country will end anytime soon. All we can do is hope that the new administration coming in after the upcoming elections will make our lives easier than it is currently.听
