New Naira: Good Policy, Bad Timing; Survival Of The Fittest
By Chioma Abigail Mbah
The CBN under the watch of Godwin Emefiele needs to be more edept in policy efficiency, their idea of producing new naira notes in order to curb so many instances of currency fraud, was a good one but ill timed. Despite so much controversies the CBN were wrong headed.
The aftermath of this cashless policy was chaos, the country scrambled to cope, there was rush at banks and ATMs to exchange old naira notes and withdraw the new naira. Many suffered, the queue at bank grew , people struggled to survive, the quote of Herbert Spencer “survival of the fittest” was practiced
There is no doubt that this policy affected everyone living in Nigeria both positively and negatively.
On the side of students, it was really hell for them. A 400 level student of UNIZIK from department of library and information studies Ukaegbu Gideon, lamented and shows his dissatisfaction towards the policy. He said” why will the government venture into what they are not well prepared for? This policy of cashless economy is being practiced by developed countries but Nigeria government knew they were not fully equipped and still they went ahead to implement and impose it on the citizens.
This policy surely affected the students so badly; a student would want to attend lecture but will not see money to pay for the transportation fare thereby making them to trek long distances each day to attend lectures. On the aspect of feeding, the students will want to make transactions through transfer in Order to purchase what they would eat, but the bank app so many atimes will not open due to traffic or no network In bank. Some students went bankrupt at their quest of withdrawing through POS. They were milked dry by the POS attendant who collects #3000 for #10000.
Nevertheless, everything that has disadvantage also has its advantages if clearly viewed. For Instance, this cashless economy made students value the naira notes, they spend unnecessarily which boosted their savings. Also it reduced the rate of theft around the neighborhood and school because a robber has nothing monetary to take from his victim.
Another advantage is that you can make transactions at the your own convenient times this include shool payment.
Bethel Mbah, a student of library and information studies department Enugu state college of education (ESCET) which is affiliated with UNIZIK concurred that the cashless economy has a positive effect judging From political perspective saying” from the little I know, if one traces back to eight years ago when his excellency Mohammed Buhari and Good luck Jonathan contested for presidency . It was as if people conscience were bought over with money. I a polling unit, an electorate were converted by money to vote wrongly. This is the cause of the menace we are passing through now.
So the main reason the policy was implemented was to curb the buying of people’s vote during elections. From my viewing point, they aim was achieved . On the negative effects, transportation fare rose to it’s peak , inflation, scarcity of fuel starvation. But in all , the reason for it was achieved .
” This new naira notes that the government made, does it solve any economic problem? No it didn’t. Although I know they had good intentions for implementing the policy but to a large extent, there were so many shortcomings.
The government should never implement a law that they cannot execute. They had their goals, but few were achieved_ Chinyere , student of mass communication department Unizik.
At the end of this process, the benefits will not have been worth the enormous financial losses and avoidable suffering, especially where crimes by the rich and political class are hardly persecuted.
The CBN needs to find ways of implementing it’s policy without harming the economy and man. Election has come and gone, yet the impacts of this policy lingers.
