The Nation Newspaper

Tag: notes

  • Notes to myself

    Today I just want to talk to myself. But if my words strike a chord in you, do not take offence. What I expect you should do is to fix things and, maybe, we will have a better Nigeria.

    Until I met Yinka through Nze Sylva Ifedigbo’s debut novel, My Mind Is No Longer Here, I never gave serious thought to the fact that Nigerians are in their best mood when at the departure of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport. There is a strong link between this statement and this quote from the novel: “When your home cannot offer you a bed to sleep peacefully on, a neighbour’s home becomes appealing.”

    At the airport’s departure, you see lovers, especially the ladies, shedding tears at the departure of their loved ones. They cry because they will miss their lovers, not because their men are leaving the country. In fact, they are glad they are escaping what the narrator in Chigozie Obioma’s An Orchestra of Minorities describes as “the land of lack, of man-pass-man, the land in which a man’s greatest enemies are members of his household; a land of kidnappers, of ritual killers, of policemen who bully those they encounter on the road and shoot those who don’t bribe them, of leaders who treat those they lead with contempt and rob them of their commonwealth, of frequent riots and crisis, of long strikes, of petrol shortages, of joblessness, of clogged gutters, of potholed roads…and of constant power outages”.

    Our dear nation has not always been like this. There was a time when naira was more than a dollar. Time also was when naira was almost equal to pounds. We must never forgive the apostles of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), which saw to the devaluation of our currency. The Structural Adjustment Programme of the Ibrahim Babangida regime made things difficult for a lot of people. The middle class practically went into extinction. Inflation skyrocketed. The government removed subsidies on petroleum products and fertiliser, and deregulated the interest rate. Personal insecurity increased and personal satisfaction nosedived. For many, it was the darkest period witnessed economically.

    Time was when going to the United Kingdom or any of the Commonwealth countries was as easy as travelling from Lagos to Ibadan. Time was when public schools were the in-thing, and time was when jobs were waiting for graduates immediately after school. Universities were great. Students were tutored and mentored by star local and foreign lecturers. Hostels were not bedbug-invested. Students had access to balanced diets. Our primary, secondary and tertiary health institutions were world class. The University College Hospital (UCH) was first among equals globally; its facilities were top notch and its members of staff could raise their heads high anywhere in the world. No thanks to brain drain, UCH and others are now shadows of their old selves. Ex-UCH Chief Medical Officer Prof. Emitope Alonge identified the brain drain that hit the health sector in the ‘80s as being responsible for the declining standard in the hospital. Alonge said between 1980 and 1983, the work ethic and attitude to patients’ care were top class. Brain drain began to take its tolls. Infrastructure decayed. There was poor power supply, lack of equipment, and sadly operating gowns were sterilised outside the hospital.

    Many doctors are on their way to Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Some are even heading to Australia because of the poor state of medical practice in the country. Even those who are not leaving are not committed. Many a doctor in government-owned hospitals run private clinics and dedicates attention to their private practice than their primary employer. Our people come up with all sorts of excuse to get asylum abroad.

    Thank God for Boko Haram, many now have new and comfortable homes in Europe and America. We also have overnight gay people, all because of the quest to have homes outside of the hell that their true home has become. The other day, I saw an advert in a newspaper in which a Nigerian, obviously seeking asylum abroad, made a ridiculous claim about his family. There was also another advert in which a guy claimed his uncle wanted to kill him over inheritance. All he wanted was asylum and he caused the advert to be done so he could use as evidence to back his quest for a safe haven.

    Thinking of all these remind me of Pastor Sam Adeyemi. In one of his incisive presentations, Pastor Adeyemi pointed out that while those in government had their fair share of blame for the wrong things in the country, the ordinary folks were also not immune from blames. Or how do you react to a situation where a cart pusher finishes the water in a bottle and discards the bottle on a major road? What about a public school head teacher who collects illegal levies from pupils? What about a journalist who has turned to a blackmailer? What about the lecturer who sees in his influence the excuse to take female students to bed? What about the managing director who keeps asking low-rung female employees out for sex? Shall we blame the government for a company where there are no clear-cut plans for staff’s welfare?

    Is the government to blame for media houses which take pride in reporting government failures yet owe salaries, fail to remit pension and tactically encourage corruption? Tell me, who should be blamed for electricity distribution companies’ failure to give service yet bill consumers arbitrarily? Many companies have folded up because of the epileptic power supply in the country. Running factories on diesel-powered generators for 24 hours is not sustainable.

    I am looking for who to blame for pastors who dupe their congregation because they are sure that God is merciful and will not immediately strike them down like the god of thunder. Please show me who to blame for politicians who hide their children abroad and buy guns for other people’s children so that they can get power and use it to steal our commonwealth.

    My final take: The government has its faults, plenty of them; but we are not blameless too. You and I have our faults too. We should play our parts and then look for ways to ensure rogues do not get to the corridor of power, not to talk of being in power.

  • Mutilated naira notes: e-payment channels as panacea

    Mutilated naira notes: e-payment channels as panacea

    Economic managers are worried over the prevalence of mutilated naira notes The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is urging currency handlers not only to keep the naira notes in circulation sparkling by adopting global best practices, but also embrace alternative payment channels as being promoted under the cash-less policy initiative. COLLINS NWEZE writes that the use of alternative banking channels like Point of Sale (PoS), Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), web payments and other electronic banking channels will help cut the N2.15 trillion cash in circulation and promote better cash handling by consumers. 

    There are rules set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to guide the printing, circulation and storage of the local currency – the naira.

    After the notes and coins have been printed/minted by the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting (NSPM) Plc and other overseas printing/minting companies, the apex banks takes charge as the sole issuing authority to other commercial banks.

    The currency-in-circulation rose to N2.15 trillion in the fourth quarter of last year. The figure was 21.1 per cent when compared to the figure in the third quarter of 2017. The development, the CBN’s economic report said, reflected the growth in currency outside banks.

    But, as the naira notes in circulation continue to rise, so is the damage done to them by those that transact with them. It is a regular sight to see people spraying mint notes at parties, writing on the notes, soling the notes, exposing them to liquids, and even squeezing them into inappropriate parts of their clothes.

    The CBN has never shied away from warning against abusing the naira notes. It says that anyone caught in the act would be prosecuted and if convicted the person risked six months in jail, or a fine of N50, 000.

    According to the bank, the abuse of the naira is contrary to its policy, adding that offenders would henceforth be arrested and prosecuted.

    The apex bank describes as unacceptable a situation in which Nigerians accord more respect to the United States (U.S). dollar above the naira, saying Nigerians ought to appreciate and value the local currency because it serves as a symbol of national identity.

    The regulator warns: “The naira has suffered abuse from majority of Nigerians. Today, we find some people spraying the naira at occasions, soiling it, writing on it, squeezing it while some are hawking it.

    “The CBN spent a lot of money in the printing of these naira notes. We urge Nigerians to respect the naira and value it. Anyone caught abusing the naira will risk a jail term of six months or pay a fine of N50, 000.”

    Besides, at the currency printing works of the NSPM Plc, quality is meticulously controlled throughout every process of currency production.

    This guarantees that every note issued meets the required standard. The CBN maintains an office called Mint Inspectorate in the premises of the NSPM Plc to maintain security and quality of the notes and coins.

    As a rule, the CBN issues currency to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) through its branches and withdraws from circulation through the same channel. The notes deposited in the CBN by the commercial banks are processed and sorted to fit and unfit notes in line with the clean note policy. The clean notes are re-issued while the dirty notes are destroyed.

    As seamless as the processes look, many Nigerians have been speaking on why the notes are not properly handled based on the rules set by the apex bank.

    A former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, said technology and electronic payment remain the greatest steps to address the prevalence of old notes in the economy.

    He regretted that many Nigerians are still not conversant with e-payment, hence the need to adopt standard best practices in handling the notes.

    Unegbu said the financial inclusion gap in the country meant that more cash are still being kept at home, thus increasing the chances that such cash will be badly handled.

    He said banking penetration has continued to rise in urban towns, while the rural areas are left totally and the majority of the inhabitants adding to the unbanked population.

    “There has been greater focus on getting financial services to urban dwellers forgetting that rural dwellers are the ones that handle bank notes most and they need to be properly educated on the gains of keeping the notes clean”, Unegbu said.

    He suggested that the Microfinance Banks (MfBs) should be encouraged and supported because they remain the closest financial services to the grassroots.

    “We have to revive the MfBs because the banking technologies cannot help much in the villages. Even in the towns, when Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) dispense old and dirty notes. This has to be addressed if we must achieve better naira notes,” he said.

    He urged the CBN to put expiry dates on the notes, and continue to motivate banks to return old and dirty notes to the apex bank for new ones to be issued.

    Unegbu said: “I want to suggest to the banks to ensure that old and dirty notes that come to them do not return to circulation. And the people have to also develop a better culture in handling bank notes. They must learn to put naira notes in wallets and envelops when presenting them as gifts at parties or other ceremonies.

    “All of us are guilty. We need to discipline ourselves in handling the naira notes. We have to see the naira notes as very important and handle them properly. Those in the rural areas are disciplined and can even follow instructions on handling the naira if they are well educated through radio jingles and television”.

    He also disclosed that new notes are not regularly printed, or properly circulated, as they are given only to the high-net worth individuals, hence, by the time the notes get to the villagers, they are already defaced.

    He identified the costs of absorbing old notes and the fear of losing float for the waiting period to get new notes as reasons the banks are unwilling returning to the CBN.

    “I urge the CBN to do more to ensure that new notes get to the grassroots by empowering MfBs and also supplying them with new notes. They also need to educate the people on how to handle he notes,” he said.

    Richard Obire, a one-time Executive Director of Keystone Bank, blamed the rise in the rate of mutilated notes in circulation on the people’s social behavior as most of business transactions are still cash-based and through the informal market.

    He said many of the cash in circulation are not properly kept, hence the depreciation in their lifespan.

    Obire said: “Even when you put new notes in circulation, the behavioural patterns of Nigerians ensure that the notes have very short life span.

    Here, education is going to play major role in getting the people change such bad behaviors towards the naira. The radio and television messages must come in local languages to make room for better understanding of the sent and received messages.”

    He admitted the high cost of sorting, storing and moving old notes. Hence, all hands must be on deck to ensure that the notes handlers keep them in good conditions.

    Obire urged the CBN to give commercial banks targets based on their balance sheet sizes on the volume and value of notes to be returned every quarter and also monitor compliance while defaulters are sanctioned.

    Besides, he recommended the strengthening of the operators of mobile money to ensure more acceptance of their services as that would improve the quality of notes in circulation.

    He said there should be more investments in the mobile money business, as seen in Kenya where M-Pesa has turned around the fortunes of the grassroots economy.

     

    CBN’s position

    On its part, the CBN assured that it would work aggressively towards increasing financial inclusion rate to 80 per cent, by cutting down on the number of people excluded from the financial system to 20 per cent in 2020.

    The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who described the target as ambitious, disclosed that the bank had identified key strategies to cutting down the financial exclusion rate to 20 per cent by in the next two years.

    Specifically, he said that the bank would work with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on how best to take advantage of mobile communication to reach those that were financially excluded.

    The CBN chief said the country has moved from 46.3 per cent exclusion rate in 2010, to 41.6 per cent in 2016.

    According to him, specific areas of focus identified which would be pursued aggressively include “prioritising intervention and creating awareness to ensure patronage, incorporating non-interest financial services into CBN intervention programmes.”

    Others are “mobilising banks that offer such products for greater outreach and impact; massive rolling out of agents networks and creating awareness to increase adoption, and adoption of digital financial services as simple, flexible and easy alternative channels for reaching remote areas and rural hinterlands.”

    Emefiele added that the National Financial Inclusion Strategy was being reviewed for greater effectiveness and impact, adding that stakeholders would be sufficiently mobilised to participate.

     

    Road to financial inclusion

    Enhancing  Financial  Innovation  and  Access  (EFInA),  a leading financial sector development organisation working  to  improve  financial  inclusion in Nigeria  held  a  stakeholders’ workshop in Lagos. The workshop tagged: “The  role  of  government in driving financial inclusion in Nigeria” was  one of  many  similar  events  organised  by  EFInA to bring stakeholders to the table and promote discussions centered on driving policies to improve financial inclusion in the country.

    At the workshop, the EFInA board chair, Ms.  Modupe  Ladipo provided participants with  insights  into the recurring challenges and barriers to  inclusion.

    She  stated that  income  levels  remained  low while observing that the Northern part of the country remained particularly  disadvantaged  in  terms  of  access  to  financial  products  and  services.

    The  workshop  attracted  high  level  participation  including  the  United Nations  (UN) Secretary- General’s  Special  Advocate  for  Inclusive  Finance, Her Majesty Queen Máxima of The Netherlands,  applauded Nigeria  for  revising  the  National  Financial Inclusion  Strategy  after  five  years  of  implementation.

    She urged stakeholders  to  recognise  the  importance  of  leveraging  technology  and  expanding  mobile  money  to address the financial inclusion gap.

     

    E-payment

    The use of electronic payment systems offer a lot of benefits to its users but despite these, the Nigeria economy is still larged cash-based as many people prefer to carryout daily transactions with cash despite the implementation of the cash-less policy.

    Cashless policy is a policy established in 2012 by the CBN to curb excesses in the handling of cash.

    The policy was initiated not to eliminate the use of cash but to reduce the volume of cash in circulation.

    CBN Deputy Governor (Operations) Adebayo Adekola has said e-payment has continued to boost commerce through the use of ATMs, web payments, Point of Sale (PoS) Machines and other alternative payment channels.

    He said the e-payment should be supported in the interest of the economy.

    Adekola said the country was emerging from an era of magnetic stripe challenges which was effectively truncated with the migration to Personal Identification Number (PIN) and chip technology for card issuance.

    This, he said, has ensured a reduction in ATM fraud to zero with the aid of this technology.

    He said: “Since this feat, the industry has consistently been inundated with other types of fraud, from card not present fraud, to insider abuses and phishing scams. In all these, the forum has responded not only proactively but also effectively in fashioning strategies to combat these threats to our payments system.”

  • Fitch Ratings may upgrade FBN Subordinated Notes

    Fitch Ratings may upgrade FBN Subordinated Notes

    Fitch Ratings has placed First Bank of Nigeria’s (FBN) subordinated notes, which are rated ‘CCC’/’RR5′, on Rating Watch Positive (RWP). Placing a debt on RWP means that rating for the instrument may likely be upgraded.

    The FBN notes were issued through FBN Finance Company BV, a special purpose vehicle, which was established to provide funding for the bank.

    FBN’s other ratings are unaffected by this rating action. The rating action follows publication of an exposure draft on December 12.

    The exposure draft, Fitch said, includes a proposal to append ‘+’ or ‘-’ modifiers to ‘CCC’ Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (and long-term debt ratings) to denote relative status/creditworthiness within this rating level. The subordinated debt of FBN is rated one notch below FBN’s ‘b-’ Viability Rating (VR).

    If modifiers are introduced to the ‘CCC’ IDR category as proposed, the one notch differential would be maintained and FBN’s subordinated debt would be rated ‘CCC+’. The notching from the VR reflects higher-than-average loss severity for subordinated debt relative to senior debt. No additional notches for non-performance risk have been applied.

    The ratings on the subordinated notes are sensitive to a change in FBN’s VR. Fitch expects to resolve the RWP within the next six months upon the conclusion of the Exposure Draft period. If the final criteria are substantially similar to the exposure draft, then the rating on the subordinated notes is likely to be upgraded to ‘CCC+’ after the final criteria are published.

  • Applicant arraigned for alleged fake naira notes

    An applicant, Chikezie Chukwu, has been arraigned for allegedly being in possession of fake naira notes and stealing N70,000.

    Chukwu, 20, was arraigned in an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos on a four-count charge of obtaining under false pretence, stealing and being in possession of fake notes.

    The Investigating Police Officer, Adewunmi Oderinmade, told the court that the offence was committed on August 22 at 2nd junction Road, Ikotun.

    Oderinmade told the court that Chukwu purchased goods valued at N70,000 from one Esther Ojetokun and paid her with fake naira notes.

    The accused, he said, could not give satisfactory reasons about the fake notes in his possession after his arrest.

    The offence, he said, contravened Sections 285, 312, 370 and 409 of the Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

    Chukwu pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate M.O Olajuwon granted the accused N50,000 bail with one surety in the like sum. He adjourned the case till September 28.

  • Crisp naira notes? Visit Ibadan markets

    Crisp naira notes? Visit Ibadan markets

    Business is booming for traders in Mint fresh Naira notes in Ibadan, as they openly carry out their transactions by the road side in the Oyo State capital. OSEHEYE OKWUOFU
    reports.

    Is selling crisp naira notes a crime?

    This question seems difficult as the law is rather loose on it.

    But many still believe that a lot is wrong with hawking the Nigerian currency outside commercial banks, in markets as it is the vogue in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    On approaching the ever-busy Iwo Road interchange and the Bola Ige International Market, Gbagi on Ibadan-Ife Expressway, it is not uncommon to see a group of youths clutching a small bag or hanging one on their neck, converge on cars passing, brandishing wads of new Naira notes and asking the occupants whether they want to buy. Se E sewo? They ask in Yoruba, using their right middle finger to scratch their left palm as if counting money, for the benefit of anyone who does not understand the language.

    A would-be buyer will park his car, beckon on one of them and begin haggling over the price as if in a pepper or any other foodstuff market. And once an agreement is reached, money would exchange hands. A few metres away a team of policemen on stop- and-search duty look away.

    Welcome to the new Naira notes market in Ibadan where all denominations of the currency, fresh from the mint, are available for sale at a premium. But these are not the only places where these notes could be obtained in the Oyo State capital, without having to visit a commercial bank.

    From the new Gbagi Market, old Ife Road, to Iwo Road interchange, Aleshinloye , Sabo, Sango and Ogunpa markets in the city, it is business-as-usual for both buyers and sellers of new naira notes. And in case you can’t get enough at these places, the traders could also be found at places where there are elaborate events, such as weddings, burials, and house warming with popular musicians on the band stand.

    Packs of naira notes in different denominations of N5, N10, N20, N50, N100, N500, and N1000 can be obtained with ease as long as you are prepared to pay the commission charged on them.

    Lower denominations such as N5, N10 and N20 notes, sell like hot cakes as they are often preferred to the higher denominations by buyers who needed the notes to ‘spray’ musicians and celebrants at parties as it is the norm among Yoruba during social events.

    Investigation revealed that the traders do charge a commission of between N200 and N250 on every N1000 note they sell to their customers who besiege the markets in search of crisps naira notes, while they pay between N80 to N110 for every N1000 they buy from their supplier.

    According to the traders who spoke with The Nation on the booming trade, sourcing the new notes was not easy “because of some factors attached to the business, but again, it all depends on good bargaining power”. While none was ready to disclose the source of their supply which many believe to be top bankers, they however agree that the business is good, lucrativeand attractive to many, the risks notwithstanding

    Alhaji Musa Abolagade, a trader in crisps naira notes at Bola Ige International market (new Gbagi) said “ it is a good business, many love to learn the trade . They come as apprentices just like every other trade, it is important to learn the rudiment of the trade if you want to succeed. Some apprentices spend between two to three years so that they will be able to know how to run the business because it is a delicate one. The act of handling large sums of money is a delicate business.

    “Through this business, like every other good business,  you can start your own family, train your children, build houses, buy car(s)and also transfer or teach same business to many who come to gain the knowledge . It is a good business and we thank God for His blessing. So far we don’t any problem other than security which is not only peculiar to our business but is a common challenge to everybody. Aside from that, the market is okay”.

    A trader, it was learnt can made as much as N5000 profit a day depending of the patronage. But it was said that much profit are made on weekends when ceremonies are usually held.

    “The peak period is Thursdays to Sundays when people often attend social events. So, sales are usually high on these days and on other days the business is usually dull because nothing much is happening in town. But, we thank God we are still coping”, Mrs Olaitan Olasiyan, a trader at Iwo road interchange said.

    Many customers who buy from the open market said it is the only place where they could obtain the fresh currencies, noting that such new naira notes would never be available in commercial banks where they ought to be for depositors.

    While the open market for crisps naira notes enjoy good patronage from its customers even though the chances of buying fake notes are not ruled out, many of their customers still find it difficult to comprehend the reasons why commercial banks are not paying depositors/customers with new notes.

    “Rather than be paid in crisps naira notes, the commercial banks dispense dirty, torn, and in most cases un-presentable naira notes that you will not want to accept. It is very disturbing and unacceptable. It is also very shameful that a country like Nigeria will allow such dirty, smelling and overused naira notes in circulation. Most of these old notes are even worse that the common paper you find in our waste dumps. And the disturbing aspect is that these bad notes are injurious to health. So, why must the commercial banks feel comfortable paying them to depositors”, a civil servant, Mr Sola Akioye said.

    One of the customers of the new naira notes market,  Alhaji Ibrahim Sogan, a self employed worker claimed that the business was not new in the city, adding it was as old as most of the markets in the Ibadan.

    He said many people would love to spend new naira notes especially on special occasions like wedding, graduation, house warming and naming ceremonies “but unfortunately you cannot get these new notes in banks except by road side markets.”

    Alhaji Sogan blamed banks staff for the unfortunate trend, accusing them of supplying the Naira hawkers with new notes just to make extra money.

    Some of the customers who spoke on the development also heaved blame on both the Central Bank and commercial bank officials for allowing corruption to destroy the confidence the people have in them to put good currency in circulation.

    They argued that most of the bank officials make hundreds of thousands of naira through racketeering and illegal sales of crisps naira notes to traders at the expense of the depositors, and called on the regulatory authorities to wade into the matter by discouraging commercials banks from dispensing torn ,dirty and bad naira notes across the counter and through Automated Teller Machines (ATM).

    A lawyer, Mr Taye Adeleke said “It is unfortunate that corruption has gradually overwhelmed everything we do in this country. It was not like this in the early 80s. You go to the banks and get crisps naira notes not on the streets or pepper and tomatoes market. From the top to the bottom, corruption has eaten deep everywhere. The CBN Governor will not say he does know about this as the head of the regulatory bank, even what we learn is that these new naira notes were sold directly by CBN officials to the black market. So, what will you expect the commercial bank officials to do? At times you feel ashamed to bring out some  torn, very dirty and in bad shape naira notes in public to spend and these notes pass through the CBN and our commercial banks. We are indeed in a mess in this country. And honestly, we need a messiah to clean the system”.

    Efforts to get officials of some top commercial banks in Ibadan to speak on the trend were turned down as they claimed that they are not in position to speak on the matter.  But a source in one of the banks shifted the blame on the CBN for dispensing old and bad naira notes.

    “We are not to blame because every money given to us came from the apex bank.  In fact that is the warehouse. So, the commercial banks only pay out what they received from the CBN”, a source from one of the commercial banks said.

    At the CBN Zonal Office, Dugbe, Ibadan Central Business District, a few of the officials who declined comment on the matter claimed that it would be out of civil service rules to speak with a journalist, while others claimed ignorance over the matter.

    Spokesman for the Oyo state Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police Olabisi Clet-Ilobanafor when contacted on the matter refused to comment on the police enforcement of Section 20 and 21 of the CBN Act 2006 which prohibits spraying of naira notes at public functions.

    When her attention was drawn to attitude of some people who rush to buy new naira notes by the roadsides with the intent to spray same at parties, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) told The Nation that she would not want to speak on that too, but said the law banning spraying of naira notes at public functions attracts six months imprisonment or an option of N50,000 fine or both .