Nigerians in a stranglehold – Tribune Online

The past few weeks have been nothing short of hell on earth for most Nigerians. They have gone through some form of frustration. If not the obvious fuel scarcity and rising costs, then it’s the scarcity of the redesigned banknotes coupled with unrealistic currency swap deadlines. The new notes are notoriously difficult to access. These are some of the top things Nigerians go through, from insecurity to inflation. The current fuel shortage is a huge pain in the neck for many Nigerians. Most of the country relies heavily on fuel for their livelihoods and businesses. This is due to the lack of power supply across the country. But with the recent fuel scarcity taking longer than it should, it is clear that Nigerians will experience nightmares for a while yet.

The lack of money and fuel has led to massive inflation in the price of transportation, food and other basic necessities important to Nigerians. Many Nigerians queue for hours at the few filling stations that sell fuel, while Nigerians struggle daily with skyrocketing prices. Fuel such as diesel, petrol and kerosene are now very expensive due to their scarcity and unavailability. Gasoline has now become as scarce as a limited edition product that sells out on initial launch. It’s like a store has no stock of a popular product, but this time Nigeria has no stock of fuel. Long queues, angry showers and fights characterize this hunt for fuel at the stations. Many are frustrated with this country. This has also led to roadblocks. Many petrol stations are located in commercial areas and long queues have left parking spaces out of reach, leading many to park and queue at the roadside, preventing motorists from moving freely on the road.

The new policy of redesigning the naira by CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele has caused much anxiety among many Nigerians as they struggle to meet the deadlines set for the acquisition of the new currency which is not in circulation. Both the new and old deadlines are not helping matters at all as many Nigerians have not been able to get their hands on the new currency. Even with the old deadline, many banks complained that they did not have the new currency available and then the CBN told the banks to come and get the new currency. It was a sad tale of two to tango as the parties blamed each other and it became difficult to know who was telling the truth. Aside from that, the CBN and the federal government refused to move an inch or be shocked by the suffering of the citizens. They stuck to their earlier deadline of January 31 and did not change it until the eleventh hour when they notified the Nigerians of the extension of the deadline to February 10, a deadline just as inconvenient as the previous one.

The government created panic and frustration among countless citizens who were in a hurry to deposit their old money and acquire new ones. Many spent long hours under the sun to withdraw the new currency from the ATMs only to be disappointed. It was either that the machines didn’t dispense the new bills or that the bills had already run out by the time it was their turn to withdraw money. There is no doubt that even with the new two-week deadline, it is impossible for the new redesigned banknotes to circulate across the country. Many no longer accept the old notes and some are hoarding the new money they have to avoid ever collecting the old ones again. No one wants to bother going to the bank to deposit old money while standing in line for hours.

This refurbishment policy also causes stress among the elderly. Quite a large part of the population are senior citizens, and they also struggle to get the new notes, having to queue for hours to get their own hard-earned cash. This is an absolute horror as merchants and other business traders refuse to accept the old currency, preferring people to make electronic transfers to them. Nigeria is a country with network problems and terrible customer service in banks, where you can have a problem with your money transfer or, in the worst case, where your money gets stuck. This is a horrible experience that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. In most cases, you won’t get your money back or you’ll have to go back and forth with the bank and its customer service team until they handle your case. That’s not to mention the countless times they say your money will be refunded, but in reality it never happened, and it can go on for weeks, sometimes months. It is quite heartbreaking to see Nigerians going through this frustrating turn of events a few weeks before the 2023 general election. But at the same time, it is a clear sign for Nigerians to “shine their eyes” on who they decide to vote for, if they want to see a better country. It is quite appalling to see Nigerians go through unjustified suffering. Nigeria is a country that is the personification of suffering; there is always some problem that increases the pain of Nigerians. It is mandatory for the next government elected to ease the pain Nigerians are going through especially with fuel scarcity before it turns into perpetual chaos.

• Afolabi is a student of Federal University of Oye Ekiti (FUOYE).

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