SIR: The Nigerian economy is in dire straits over the decision of the presidency and the Central Bank to redesign the naira in a move the Supreme Court has since set back.
Nigeria is a country of lofty aspirations. Its attempt at a cashless economy is a manifestation of this.
The latest attempt at a cashless economy started towards the end of last year when the Central Bank of Nigeria decided to redesign the naira. Such an audacious move which kept one eye on the 2023 general elections was justified as an attempt to reduce vote buying, payment of ransom to terrorists, as well as stimulate the economy.
The new notes of N200, N500 and N1000 began circulating in December 2022. A deadline of January 31 was set as the date to phase out the old notes. January came and passed and a slew of litigation at the Supreme Court ensured that the deadline got to February. It was around that time that the scarcity of the new notes hit Nigeria, bringing with it a stinging reality of life in a cashless economy.
Banks and ATM machines became like pilgrimage centres as desperate Nigerians sought cash for their transactions amidst the disparate circumstances of their lives.
Living in a cashless economy has presented a kind of conundrum that Nigerians have witnessed many times previously, a conundrum of substance without structure.
Many times, those who make policies for Nigerians put the cart before the horse. They presume to set down the substance of supposedly beneficial policies without adequate structures to see them through.
If the federal government working with the Central Bank of Nigeria had decided to feed Nigerians into the crucible of a cashless economy, was it properly fine-tuned to be as foolproof as it can be?
Getting cash has remained hard and the difficulties have danced their way into people’s lives, pilfering away their productivity.
For example, a person who spends the whole day in a bank in a futile attempt to withdraw some cash would end up wasting that day.
One of the chief reasons canvassed for swapping some of the old notes for new ones was that it would curb vote-buying during the election.
It did curb vote buying as cash was so scarce around that time that all those who wanted to buy votes were simply unable to. However, electoral malpractice assumed different forms and dimensions. There has also been a lull in the activities of terrorists who kidnap people for ransom, thereby posing a peculiar challenge to the Nigerian economy. Without cash, it is decidedly more difficult for them to collect ransom.
On March 3, the Supreme Court ruled that the old naira notes should remain in circulation with the new notes setting back the naira redesign policy and piling not a little confusion on Nigerians.
Many Nigerians have openly questioned the wisdom of going back to the old notes.?
The Nigerian economy is clearly in need of a push. The naira redesign policy may have been pushed without adequately consulting all those who should have been consulted, but what can it really achieve?
For many Nigerians, would the pesky inconvenience of it all be worth it at the end of the day? Will it give the Nigerian economy the shot in the arm it so desperately needs? Will the decision to set limits on the amount individuals and corporations can withdraw in the day be of much help?
A country that has felt many false dawns is well within its rights to be wary of another false dawn, especially in these days when a lot is at stake at different levels.
•Kenechukwu Obiezu,
<keneobiezu@gmail.com>