New naira notes: Good policy, bad timing, survival of the fittest

BY Chioma Abigail Mbah

The CBN under the watchful eyes of Godwin Emefiele needs to be more edept in policy efficiency, the 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 Automated Teller Machines (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 full glare.

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. A 400 level student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka from department of library and information science, Ukaegbu Gideon, once lamented 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 affected the students so badly so badly that students who would want to attend lecture fail to do so because no cash to pay for the transportation fare thereby making them to trek long distances each day to attend lectures.

Students who desired online transactions in order to purchase what they would eat, end up being frustrated as most bank apps fails at the crucial time. Some students went bankrupt at their quest of withdrawing through POS. They were milked dry by the POS attendant who collects #3000 for #1000.

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 school payment.

Bethel Mbah, a student of Library And Information Studies Department, Enugu State College Of Education (ESCET) which is affiliated to UNIZIK concurred that the cashless economy has had a positive effect judging from political perspective. She said “from the little I know, if one traces back to eight years ago when His Excellency, Mohammed Buhari, and Goodluck Jonathan contested for presidency. It was as if people conscience were bought over with money. At polling units, electorates were swayed by money to vote wrongly.

“This new naira notes that the government made, does not solve any economic problem. 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.