SOS to CBN on SME loans

By Ugochukwu Urim

Sir: With the ongoing global pandemic, Covid-19 ravaging the countries of the world leading to shutdowns of countries’ borders, cities, airports, seaports and roads, a situation that someone has described as similar to World War II, I write as a citizen of Nigeria requesting the CBN to ask Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions to consider extending moratorium of 90 days to their customers who have already taken up one micro, SME and corporate loans or the other.

This has become urgent to avert a deluge of bad debts and its consequences about to hit these financial institutions and lenders, institutions that had graciously granted these loans to Nigerians or their businesses not knowing this force majeure was going to affect the smooth running of economic activities.

Countries of the world are taking proactive steps to protect their citizens and businesses against the effects of the shutdowns which have grounded not only the mobility of their citizens but also their business operations. France declared on April 8 that it had entered a recession and many more countries are nearing the precipice, economically speaking.

The production of essential commodities has sagged, importers can no longer place orders, exporters of physical goods can no longer honour orders, warehouses filled with goods can no longer make supplies to their buyers. Many shops, businesses and commercial operations are in a lockdown for the past two weeks. Some had been slowing down their operations by February – March when the impact of the pandemic began to be felt in the nation.

The Central Bank of Nigeria needs to come to the rescue of Nigerians, SMEs, corporate businesses and others who have one loan obligation or the other to service by compelling banks and other financial institutions to extend at least 90 days’ moratorium to save these businesses and Nigerians from going into a frenzied situation. Nigerians are at home now, managing the limited stockpile of food and essential commodities they have, praying and hoping for better days as this pandemic smoulders. But doing this will give them more vigour to manage the situation better emotionally and physically.

It is not because it is what many economies of the world are doing as part of their intervention strategies but this is the right to do by the CBN and Nigerian government to give more hope and courage to Nigerians and to avert a social crisis of high blood pressures, suicides and emotional breakdowns among affected citizens and business owners which may follow this ugly but unexpected pandemic.

• Ugochukwu Urim, <ugochukwuurim@gmail.com>