The past few days or weeks, depending on your personal experience, have been really chaotic and dramatic across the country with regards to the newly redesigned Naira notes, deadline for the phasing out of the old Naira notes and the new cash withdrawal limit. No one seems to be left of this drama surrounding the entire scenario, including both the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele and President Buhari.
We have equally seen the face-off between the CBN Governor and the House of Representatives, with the House of Reps threatening to issue a warrant of arrest against Emefiele over his failure to honour their invitation on the aforementioned issue. Meanwhile, both President Buhari and the CBN Governor have vowed that there won’t be going back on the deadline for the phasing out of the old Naira notes.
On the other hand, there’s no gain saying that the said newly redesigned Naira notes is insufficiently in circulation, while many people have already started rejecting the old Naira notes as the deadline is almost here. This has continued to frustrate economic activities across the country, making life more difficult for the poor masses who are already facing multiple hardship for years now, as a result of bad and incompetent government. Then the question is, which way forward Nigeria?
First of all, most of us do not understand the reason why we have seen many of our politicians crying more than the bereaved over this issue. It is not borne-out of their overnight grown love for the country, very far from that. Yes, their obstinate outburst is not as a result of their patriotism, but because their individual and selfish interests seems to have been threatened as a result of the aforementioned, ahead of this year’s general election, hence why they are always in the news over this issue.
Top on the agenda is the fact that the newly introduced monetary policy is a complete bad market to politicians who plan to indulge into vote buying during the upcoming general elections in the country. Meanwhile, these politicians are still battling with the reality of the new electoral laws which will equally limit to the bearest minimum the issue of election rigging. Now, the only loophole left for them to indulge into electoral malpractices, precisely vote buying, is seriously threatened by the new CBN monetary policy. And you expect these people to start praising and clapping for the new policy?
So, with a situation like this, what then were you expecting from these politicians? To sit, fold their hands and remain silent? Definitely not a realistic expectations on their part, hence the reason you have seen a lot of them threatening fire and brimstone, and equally why different trump-up allegations against the CBN Governor is flying here and there.
Then you ask yourself, why now? When the CBN Governor has been in that position for about ten (10) years now, no one brought up such allegations, but immediately they realized that the new monetary policy is a threat to their interests, then they remembered that Emefiele has skeletons in his wardrobe. They will do everything to ensure that he’s removed, but they will fail, so that their puppet will be installed, and immediately suspending the new CBN monetary policies.
So, it is inevitable that the CBN should extend the deadline for the phasing out of the old Naira notes as the newly redesigned Naira notes have not circulated as expected. If the initial deadline is maintained as being insisted by the government, then it will plunge millions of Nigerians into more hardship.
Well, if the government finally agrees to extend the deadline for the phasing out of the newly redesigned Naira notes, then it should not go beyond the date for the first set of election, being 25th of February 2023. Yes, if the new deadline is extended beyond February 25, then we have obviously killed the main benefit of redesigning the Naira notes and the new cash withdrawal limit, which will act as a serious checks against vote buying.
On the other hand as well, Central Bank must ensure speedy and adequate supply of the new Naira notes across the country. Also, CBN should as a matter of urgent national importance, immediately inaugurate taskforce that will monitor the flow and distribution of the new Naira notes, especially monitoring compliance by the commercial banks whom I think are not doing enough to ensure the smooth phasing out of the old Naira notes.
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