Cashless Economy: Effects of Cash Crunch on Nigerians | GOVERNMEND
According to the explanations provided by the apex financial regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the cashless policy drives are aimed at scaling up financial inclusion, and reducing cases of armed robbery, kidnapping, terrorism financing, advance fee fraud, graft, ransom payment, extortion and other crimes in Nigeria. As part of the drive towards a cashless economy, the naira redesignation policy was introduced. It came with a promise of the circulation of the new banknotes whilst the old 200, 500 and 1000 denominations returned to the banks. However, to the shock of Nigerians, after depositing their old notes into banks, the promised circulation of new notes fell through, leaving Nigerians to suffer untold hardship. The first menace of the policy is the outrageous queues at commercial banks.
Citizens struggle to death every day while trying to withdraw their hard-earned money, which they deposited in banks for future use. Sadly, the absence of money at the banks leave owners rethinking the choice to save their money. Banks now compete with market squares, with many people pining to retrieve their savings. Expectedly, customers soon ran out of patience and waged war against bank staff. They resorted to vandalizing ATMs and setting banks ablaze to express their pent-up frustration, leaving such banks to count losses. The fear of attacks from desperate customers forced banks to shut down. And as a result, Point of Sales (POS) attendants’ businesses wound up as their efforts to get cash for their customers at the bank, becoming temporarily unemployed. It’s saddening that all the reasons behind the naira redesign and cashless policy drive still plague Nigerians.
The terrorism funding, kidnapping and cyber crime, among others, are still happening. Credible sources have reported that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command confirmed an attack by gunmen on Grow Homes Estate in the Kubwa neighborhood in Abuja. Residents recounted how about 20 armed men stormed the estate on the night of Friday, March 10, ransacking homes and whisking away the inhabitants to unknown destinations. What would they demand if not money? Many government projects have been abandoned, and budgets suspended. Depressingly, ceremonies are being postponed. These circumstances have made life unbearable for poor Nigerians.Suffering and hunger have gripped many in the absence of cash to purchase what to eat. A majority of sellers refuse to take payments via bank transfers for fear of fake alerts. Only a few traders accept transfer payment, often saying “you must pay extra charges for making the transfer” and insisting that they get credited before the buyers can leave with the goods.
Our dear country forcefully migrated us into a cashless era despite bank networks frustrating the masses. Transactions take hours and up to days before customers can confirm the success, often leading to double payment, amounting into heavy losses in the face of unscalable scarcity. People decry the services rendered in some banks, and the inefficiency of their mobile apps. People in the remote areas, who have little to no knowledge of banking transactions, especially the aged and average Nigerians who don’t have access to the internet are out on streets, frantically begging to feed their households.I have, on different occasions, encountered a family man begging to feed his family. In tears, he approached me, “My children and I have not eaten since yesterday evening and we have nothing to eat today too. Brother, I want you to assist me with anything you have, even if it is garri.”On Saturday, March 11, an Ibadan-based presenter, Baba Bintin, reportedly slumped and died while trekking to his office. Verified sources confirmed that he died while trekking from Amuloko to Fresh FM at Challenge, hoping to get cash from a POS agent.
The cash crunch has prevailed over the affairs of Nigerians, placing heavy restrictions in their paths. However, light seems to have surfaced at last as the CBN Governor, on Monday, March 13, directed commercial banks to recirculate the old 200, 500 and 1000 notes, restoring their ‘legal tender’ status until December 31, 2023. In my opinion, if the heightened insecurity in the country is combatted through other means whilst these old notes are reintroduced, pending the circulation of the redesigned notes, which Nigerians hope will not exceed the stipulated period, the lives and affairs of Nigerians will take a positive turn and bring about ripple effects on the economy.
Dear compatriots, the challenges surrounding the cash crunch is a call to intensify our prayers for God to intervene in our miseries. With prayers and perseverance, surely, we will survive this trying time. We survived the Covid-19 pandemic, so I believe that this, too, will pass.
By: Lawal Usman (Mursheed), a campus reporter and law student.
Source: PEN PRESS UDUS
