• This is the only choice open to the Federal Government now that the apex court has declared that its currency redesign did not follow due process.
For a judgment that was as concise as it was unambiguous, we would have thought that the Supreme Court judgment on the controversial and needlessly disruptive demonetisation policy would have settled things once and for all. But here we are – some 10 days after – with a Federal Government expected to uphold the law, treating both the judgment and the distraught citizenry with utmost contempt.
Surely, nothing in the March 3 judgment of the apex court could be said to be lacking in clarity. In fact, it was as lucid as it could be. President Muhammadu Buhari was held to be in breach of the constitution in the manner with which he issued directives on the re-designing of the Naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN); secondly, that he acted ultra vires by his glaring failure to consult with the National Council of State, Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Economic Council, (NEC), and, thirdly, that to the extent that the purport of the policy, initially advertised as ‘currency swap’ became more of ‘currency seizure’, breached the fundamental rights of the Nigerian citizens.
More crucially, the apex court issued the consequential order that the old naira notes remain valid until December 31, 2023, and that the old N200, N500 and N1000 will co-exist with the new ones.
That the Federal Government continues to carry on, as if oblivious of this unambiguous judgement, and as if unconcerned with the daily agonies that citizens have had to endure in the past two months as a consequence of its obnoxious policy beggars belief. Even more so is its silence, which is utterly deplorable and outright irresponsible. The same obviously apply to the CBN at whose behest a most avoidable anarchy is foisted on a hapless citizenry in the first instance.
That both the CBN and its principal, the Federal Government, opted to keep mum in the aftermath of the judgment is not entirely surprising; what is intolerable is when they allow their indignation to trump the well-considered intervention of the highest court in the land. Suffice to say that the country remains one of law and so players are expected to bow to its majesty. And this is even more so now that the correlates of criminal abdication and bad faith are increasingly manifest; with the programmed anarchy threatening to bring the financial services sector as indeed the economy into ruin.
This is manifest everywhere. There are reports of banks paying customers with the old notes only to have the latter return them soon after when it became evident that no one was ready to accept them. Ironically, the same banks said to have paid out the old notes were said to have rejected them on their return. Meanwhile, the new currency notes, despite the initial assurances of the apex bank, remain a rarity and where found, are more often than not, outside of the banking halls and at a premium. As for the scenes at the banking halls, they are better imagined: angry, frustrated customers laying siege all in the bid to collect the cash that belongs to them. To cap it all, the so-called alternative payment channels that ought to have provided some respite have remained as they were: neither up to speed, nor could cope in the face of heightened pressure. The whole system has simply buckled under to further compound the frustrations of the citizens. The impact on the economy is better imagined. From the market women selling fruits, to those hawking other perishables and other day to day items, theirs is a different level of woe occasioned by the currency scarcity. Over all, there is a creeping loss of faith in the financial services sector.
Part of the blame would go to the traders and others who have been rejecting the old notes, though. This is due to ignorance and perhaps the effects of long years of military rule. That is why they would think they need a presidential pronouncement on the Supreme Court judgment before accepting the old notes.
But the onus falls more on the Federal Government to clear the air by asking the people to accept both the old and new notes as legal tender, especially seeing the confusion its silence has created all over the country. This is why we welcome the idea by some state governments to initiate contempt proceedings against the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, over their refusal to implement the apex court’s judgment. This is the next thing to do now that the Federal Government has been served with the enrolled order and Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment. People cannot continue to hide under the amorphous title of government to disobey court orders. Individuals are in charge of those sections of the government and these should be the ones to account for the government’s actions.
The Federal Government has no other choice but to comply with the Supreme Court judgment. It must in practical terms give effect to the judgement. That is the civilised path to take. No matter its misgivings, the apex court remains the final arbiter in all legal disputes. Surely, any other route is an invitation to anarchy.