By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
To say that Nigerians especially the low-income earners are suffering untold hardships in their own country is an understatement.
From lack of basic needs as propounded by American Psychologist, Abraham Maslow who developed “the Hierarchy of Needs”, which starts with the basic human needs for survival, to battling with the fallout of government’s policies which are limiting citizens from achieving their live ambitions, there are enormous pressure on the Nigerian people at the moment.
Even as Nigerians are only interested in the primitive (no disrespect intended), life-sustaining needs, they still cannot progress to the the next level because these survival needs such as Water, Food, Shelter, Sleep and other physical essentials like Safety are not fulfilled.
Yet, today in Nigeria, there are still millions of people at this primitive survival level and there is no respite in sight, a situation which has made Need for Self-Actualization including Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual essential commodities for ordinary citizens to buy.
In Nigeria of today, millions of people are Physically, Emotionally, Mentally and Spiritually sick because of the daily hustling they undertake to eke out a living just as the problems kept increasing by the day.
Truly, life has become nightmarish in both the urban centers and rural areas in the present day Nigeria with many managing to eat two times daily while the majority have no idea where the next meal will come from and this is the daily routine.
For example, many Nigerians do not enjoy straight one hour electricity and steady water supplies neither are they enjoying good road networks across the federal government’s trunk A road networks.
Worse still, the citizens who provided all the above mentioned by themselves after paying their annual taxes and rents, sleep in the fuel stations to buy petroleum products especially the Premium Motor Spirits (PMS) to power their generators at home and offices.
The scarcity PMS has made life unbearable as many people have resorted to trekking to offices and back, from Monday to Friday without any respite at sight. The product is now sold only in the black markets while few filling stations that have the products now sell at the black market price of over M400 to N500 per litre.
As the citizens are adapting to life without electricity, pipe borne water, lack of good road networks across the country and fuel scarcity as well as harassment by the various law enforcement agencies especially the ubiquitous Vehicles Inspection Officers (VIOs) and their brothers Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), then entered the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the Naira Redesign Policy with its attendant scarcity of Naira notes.
Although a lofty idea, the Naira redesign policy, as explained by the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who is not loved by many Nigeria today, has brought more misery upon Nigerians and none citizens too. The chaotic way the policy is being implemented by the apex bank has left many Nigerians hungry.
This is even as some Nigerians including some ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) state Governors led by Mallam Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna described the CBN Policy as currency confiscation hence he and some governors rushed to the Supreme Court of Nigeria to obtain a state of execution order against the CBN and Federal Government.
But, as it stands, neither the new Naira notes nor the much advertised new notes are in circulation in Nigeria today just as the Supreme Court’s order that all the denominations of the old Naira notes Including N500 and N1000 notes are still legal tender in Nigeria till December 31, 2023, Nigerians, low and mighty have refused to have anything to do with the old notes while the new Naira notes have become as scarce as snow falling in the desert.
For the above reasons, small businesses have closed down within one month and few weeks of the implementation of the Naira Redesign Policy by CBN and also of the introduction of the new Naira notes and withdrawal of the old notes from circulation by CBN.
Earlier projection by the CBN that Nigerians are ready for Cashless Economy has fallen flat on the face as the current scarcity of Naira notes and its attendant near collapse of Nigeria economy have clearly shown that the country is not ready for full Cashless Economy.
The reality is that huge percentage of Nigerian businesses are based on “Cash and Carry” model; which requires the buyer to pay with cash and the seller to gladly receive cash.
Some of the businesses which requires cash transactions are in retail category such as petty traders in markets, residential areas and roadsides. Others are vulcanizers who pump air in vehicle tyres, ‘Akara’ ball sellers, pepper, salt, vegetables and groundnuts sellers.
Majority of these categories of traders have closed shops as they have been chased out of business due to lack of cash to continue their ventures. The same fate befell pure water hawkers and all those whose article of trade ranges from N100 to N1000.
Interestingly, even those privileged individuals in Nigeria who carry millions of Naira notes in “hard copy” according to one serving Member of the out-going 9th National Assembly (NASS), they are in this ditch together with the poor masses.
No one is spared the scourge, except those in top government positions, who do not touch cash abinitio, but do cashless transactions, are enjoying the drama going on daily at the commercial banks and Point of Sales (PoS) operators especially in the fuel stations in Abuja.
On a daily basis in the banking halls in Nigeria of today frustrated Nigerians who have money in the banks but cannot get cash to even buy food items, fuel and medicine to treatment themselves of ailments as minor as headaches, are seen stripping naked to drive home their points why they want their money.
The situation is even worse in the rural villages and towns of Okohia in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo state; Langtang in Plateau; Wukari in Taraba; Auchi in Edo; Ozuzu-Etche in Rivers; Saki in Oyo; Nasarawa-Egon of Nasarawa and Toro in Bauchi as well as Chikum in Kaduna and Monguno town in Borno states, where banking facilities are not readily available or few.
Indeed, Nigerians are suffering untold hardships never witnessed in the land before now except during the civil war of 1966 to 1970 when those on the side of Republic of Biafra witnessed hunger and starvation first hand with its attendant malnutrition which in turn brought Kwashiokor (sickness of swollen feet, hands and stomach).
This is where these twin scarcity of Naira notes and fuel are driving Nigerians into 53 years after the civil war ended. This is why the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari must act fast to arrest the situation before Nigerians start to eat from the Dustbin.
A stitch in Time Saves Nine.
