THIS article was published on February 11, 2023 in the thick of the sufferings of the masses. President Muhammadu Buhari failed to suspend Godwin Emefiele, instead he was given a National Honour of the land. But the day of reckoning came on Friday, June 9, 2023 when he was suspended by President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed TINUBU as the CBN Governor and subsequently arrested by the Directorate of State Services (DSS).
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It is time for President Muhammadu Buhari to show Emefiele the way out and appoint someone with fresh ideas that will bring relief to Nigerians to avoid setting the nation on fire like we experienced in Ondo State in August 1983 when Adekunle Ajasin was robbed of his governorship mandate and given to Chief Akin Omoboriowo; unless if the President want to be remembered as someone who started well but ended on a sad note.
Bankers have been subjected to untold harassments, intimidations and attacks by frustrated Nigerians for the policy they were not part of.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele came with the Cashless Policy in the last quarter of 2022 with great applause by Nigerians, although the policy was not initiated by him.
The Cashless Policy was initiated by the former CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi who was sacked by Former President Goodluck Jonathan administration for blowing the whistle of massive corruption in the system.
After the sack of Sanusi in 2014, Emefiele was appointed to takeover from him.
It will be recalled that Emefiele was the MD/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc prior to his appointment.
Cashless Policy ought to have taken off between 2014 and 2015 if Sanusi had remained the governor of the CBN but Emefiele jettisoned this noble policy when it was needed most before the 2015 general elections.
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The same man remembered the policy when it was few months to 2023 general elections after over seven years he assumed office as the governor of the CBN.
In his first Press briefing, he said the Cash Swap would last for three months, which means the old Naira denominations of N200, N500 and N1,000 will no longer be legal tender and will replace new redesign notes that was meant to checkmate election riggers, money laundering, other cash related vices in the system. He gave Nigerians three months to deposit the old Naira notes as against two weeks given to Nigerians by Buhari/Idiagbon military regime in 1984.
Initially, he gave a directive that an individual can no longer withdraw more than N20,000 per day while corporate bodies can only withdraw N100,000 per day.
Signs of inconsistency rear its ugly heads when he shifted grounds due to public outcry to increase individual cash withdrawal from N20,0000 to N100,000 while corporate bodies was increased to N5,000,000 per week.
Initially, Emefiele directed the banks to pay only N200 denominations from the ATM after the launch of the new notes. Barely few days later, he ordered that banks should be paying N500 and N1,000 from the same ATM.
Incompetence, confusion and bad implementation of a good policy started revealing itself giving the impression that it has a political undertone.
Signs of insufficient new Naira notes and suffering of the masses eventually forced President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the cash swap from January 31, 2023 to February 10, 2023.
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Findings of several weeks revealed that the CBN Governor had no genuine plan for the tasks ahead of him. His action gave rooms for panic measures to the detriment of the bank and their staff.
At a time, CBN gave a directive that paying Tellers should be writing down the numbers of Naira notes paid to customers. How possible could this be? When this failed they resorted to blame game against the banks.
My findings revealed that some banks went to the CBN for three consecutive days without getting the new Naira notes. As at the time of writing this article, bank vaults are empty of both old and new Naira notes. Are we at war? Why creating problems for innocent Nigerians when there was none?
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Only Emefiele can answer this question, he alone knows his agenda that is hidden to other Nigerians.
Because the CBN is the apex bank and has the power to sanction any commercial banks, the banks cannot complain thereby suffering in silence.
Meanwhile, over 1,000 Micro-finance Banks that are closer to the downtrodden masses were not factored into the policy. After their customers have deposited their old cash for onward deposit at the banks, they no longer have access to their money leading to collapse of many businesses. MFBs are not allowed to withdraw cash from their parent banks on behalf of the customers thereby subjecting them to untold hardships. CBN turned their back as if it had no knowledge of their registration, as if they are operating illegally. Was it not the CBN that issued Operating Licences to these local banks?
Hoarding of cash by three or four branches of any bank was not enough to subject innocent bankers to attacks and burning of banks and destroying their properties as we have been witnessing in the past days.
The success or failure of the cash swap policy rest solely on the shoulder of the CBN as the apex bank and Governor Godwin Emefiele. He is the architect of our hardships, pains and agonies.
Emefiele is the first Governor of the CBN to throw his hat to the ring to contest for presidency without first resigning his appointment when he knew that all INEC Sensitive materials are kept in the CBN before any election. In a normal clime, he ought to have been sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari but here we are, in limbo.
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Would there have been any reason to hoard cash if there is enough cash with the banks to go round?
There are many cases of casualties since the beginning of the year because Nigerians could not have access to the money they legitimately worked for to feed themselves and families.
Many who are frustrated went nude in the banking Hall to show their grievances because they could not withdraw part of their cash deposited in the bank.
A man was reported to have lost his pregnant wife who bled to death while under child delivery because the hospital refused cash transfer and there was none to help pay his hospital bills.
A man was reported to have slumped and died while queuing at the ATM point.
The burden and problem of this badly implemented policy rests solely on bank staff who have been going through lots of trauma in the past weeks. Only few Nigerians knew that since this cash swap started, bankers have been going to office everyday of the week including Saturdays and Sundays working late into the nights. No rest.
The bankers remain the last resort that interface with the customers hence they are subject to attacks because of the impressions coming from the CBN that banks are hoarding the cash. It is clear to all and sundry that the Emefiele is not prepared. If the unconfirmed report that the Nigerian Printing and Minting Company have no capacity to print out the cash that will go round in the next three years is correct, then we are in trouble.
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As at the time of writing this article, my findings revealed in most of the banks visited and numbers of bank staff interviewed, most banks have exhausted their cash including lower denominations of N100, N50 and N20 and the CBN is helpless and cannot meet up their demands.
One would be forced to ask this pertinent question, “on whose behalf was this draconian policy implemented?”
Was is it purposely done to make life unbearable for the people?
Nigerians are at the crossroads, we have never had it so bad.
We just cannot continue like this, enough is enough!
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Adesoji Omosebi is the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of SOJ WORLDWIDE ONLINE NEWS.
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