Basil Ayodeji Oduwole, an engineer with Mitsulift Nigeria, has always spent his Christmas and New Year with his family in Osogbo, Osun State, but this year, he is not certain whether he will spend both in the ancient city.

Despite the hours he spent in his bank, he could only get N2000 on Friday, which is not enough to do anything. He told The Guardian, “I have scheduled to travel with my family yesterday, December 23, but had to postpone my movement because there is paucity of cash. I have had to spend more money to get the little I have now for my trip tomorrow (that is today).”

The same fate is what Paul Eghieye is facing: Paucity of funds. Eghieye told The Guardian, “I had a burial to attend in my village, Ogbona, Edo State between December 21 and 22, but I couldn’t go. It is not every transaction that you do with transfer, and worse still, everything is very expensive. One is not happy with what is happening.

“In January, when it happened, people said it was because of election, what is happening now? Is Christmas another election?” For Bode Osunkunle, “the highest amount I have been able to get from these Point of Sale (POS) agents is N5,000 and I had to spend N300 to get that amount.”

As Nigerians begin this year’s Christmas celebration, a lot of families have lamented the prevailing cash crunch, saying it has affected their plans for the festivity.

From Lagos to Abuja and other parts of the country, traders and shoppers lamented that the non-availability of cash at commercial banks and Automated Teller Machines (ATM) has forced them to re-jig their preparations for the season.

A wholesale dealer on clothes and other accessories at the IBB Market in Suleja, Niger State, Benard Obayi, told The Guardian that sales have dropped below expectations as a result of the cash crunch.

“As I speak with you, people can no longer buy our goods; only businesses that accept cash transfers are surviving. It is a difficult situation that is unexpected especially during this festive season.”

Also, Anthonia Akpochi, a trader, lamented low sales, saying: “I sell fried fish, yam and plantain. The situation has affected everybody but the way it is affecting me is that I am not making much sales again because customers are complaining that my things are costly.

“Today, I withdrew N30,000 from a POS agent and he collected N800 from me. I would factor in everything as I buy commodities and sell to customers so that I can also make small profit from it. So, the market is not fast as it should be. It’s only God that will help us in this country.”

Sharing his experience with The Guardian, Pastor Emmanuel Jonah, who was seen at one of the banks on Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, Lagos, lamented the hours he wasted at the bank just to withdraw money.

Jonah, who said that customers were allowed to withdraw only N20,000, also disclosed that following his experience, he has cancelled fun seeking and travelling during this Christmas.

Jonah said: “The issue is that most people now are skeptical, especially at this time there is no money in the bank. If you want to withdraw they will just tell you that you can only withdraw N20, 000. For instance, I have been at the bank for some time now and the ATM was not working. I had to go to the banking hall and it was as if nothing was working there. It has not been easy and the situation is really biting hard.

“Fun seeking for now is out of it because what we need now is how to put food on the table for the family. I thank God I have a church programme to attend from December 21 to 26, 2023. I’m not thinking of travelling even though I thought of it before but now the idea is cancelled because the economic situation in the country is not palatable.”

Calling on the government to address the current situation in the land, Jonah added: “There have been an outcry from Nigerians that the situation in the country is bad, but the government seems not to respond to people’s outcry but we still believe God to do something within the government circle. The point is if you are ruling people you have to have a listening ear for you to be able to know what is happening and how they are feeling about your leadership.” Another Lagos resident, Mrs. Helen Emmanuel, also expressed frustration as a result of naira scarcity.

“You go to the bank and you will not collect your own money. If you go to the ATM you will get only N20, 000 and what will that do for a family. If you go to POS people they will charge you N600 for N20,000 while some will charge N800 for giving you N20,000. One is just tired. I’m going through this stress just because I want to travel otherwise I would just sit in my house and manage whatever I have with my family,” Emmanuel said.

A nursing mother, Mrs. Beatrice Vincent Isang, patronises POS agents a lot but when their charges became unbearable for her, she strapped her baby on the back and went to the bank to withdraw from any of the ATMs in the area only to discover that they were not dispensing cash.

Isang said: “Normally, I collect cash from POS agents but when the charges became high, I decided to come to the bank to see if I could get some money. Initially, if I collect N5,000 from POS people, they charged me N100, but now they are charging N200. So, I decided that instead of paying N200 I should come to the bank. In fact, I trekked from my house in Ijaiye Street, Mafoluku Oshodi to Airport Road. But on getting here, the ATMs are not dispensing cash to customers. So, I feel so bad. I have been walking under the sun just to get N5,000 and there is no money at the ATMs. I intend to travel with my family to my state, Cross River, but if this cash scarcity continues I might cancel it,” she said.

However, a POS agent in Lagos, Miss Kate Bakare, said that commercial banks now sell N100,000 for N2,000 to them, adding that on their part, they charge N300 for every N5,000 withdrawal.

“This is because there is cash scarcity and it has affected the prices of goods in the market,” she explained. Another resident, Mr. Henry Afolabi, alleged that a popular first generation bank had not loaded money in their ATMs for two weeks.

Mr. Godwin Balogun also said: “I am in the habit of making withdrawals from the ATM at weekends, particularly on Saturdays. This is because there are always fewer people in the queue.

“But today, I was unable to obtain cash from any of the bank ATMs I visited at Airport Road, Lagos. “I first went to the UBA Osolo Way branch at 7/8 Bus Stop, where I gathered that the ATM machines were not dispensing. I was advised by the bank’s security men to check back around noon.

“I went to the nearby UBA branch on Ladipo Market, but the story was the same, no cash in the ATMs.“There were no less than 10 different bank branches on Ladipo Street, Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State. I visited them one by one. I visited the branches of GTB, Fidelity, Access Bank, First Bank, FCMB, Stambic IBTC, Zenith Bank, and Keystone Bank. But none of their ATMs were dispensing cash.

“I went back to the UBA at Osolo Way branch just after 12 noon, only to be told that the situation had not changed. It was the same story at the UBA Ilupeju branch.”

Balogun called on the government to find a lasting solution to the cash scarcity problem to enable people to celebrate Christmas and New Year with whatever they can afford despite price hike challenges. “I want the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to help the masses by providing enough cash for people,” he added. Education Consultant, Mr. Akin Benjamin, said that cash crunch being experienced by citizens is like rain beating cats and dogs.

“Nigerians are being forced, however, in a very subtle way to embrace online payments and do less cash transactions.

“I am coping because I actually prefer online payments and keep just little cash for transactions below N1,000,” he noted. He advised the government to do more to onboard people in rural areas and the uneducated citizens on the cashless policy to make life easier for them.

“Alas, they are more than urban dwellers. More Nigerians live in villages than in cities and are largely uneducated,” Benjamin added. A Consultant Public Health Physician at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Dr. Odusolu Yetunde, urged Nigerians to learn from past experiences and adjust their lives.

Yetunde said: “I learnt about the cash crunch situation from the news on social media (where customers who went to the banks had money rationed/released to them like N5,000, which was abysmally low compared to what they requested.

“I also got to know about the dire situation from a church member who is involved in the POS business. My take on this is that Nigerians do not really learn enough from any situation. We easily forget our sorrows/pains and experiences and move on with life without using the experiences we had to improve our lot or take necessary actions in the future.

“The monetary policy and change of the naira denominations, which was activated in February this year, led to so many complicating and distressing situations where people even had to literally resort to ‘buying of money’ and many other attendant frustrations, leading to loss of lives and properties, among other challenges.

“The monetary policy made people to become more aware of how cashless monetary transactions can be made, and most people, as well as small-scale businesses, learnt how to use the cashless means to transact and make their businesses thrive through use of bank transfers, POS, among others.

“I believe we can use the lessons learnt in February this year to ensure we survive this cash crunch by ensuring we do cashless transactions and carry less cash around.”

A cashless economy, Odusolu said, could result in reduction in crime, less kidnapping, reduction in theft/ fraud/corruption, no worries about losing cash, improved security, more enlightenment of the populace in technology on money handling and above all, saving time and cost due to faster transactions.

“Although cash crunch situation has its disadvantages, the benefits of a cashless economy outweigh the risks. Even at this festive season when there is increased frenzy and excitement of buying and selling, we can still go cashless.

“I will encourage us to embrace digital technology in handling of money – cash transfers, use of POS albeit with wisdom and discretion at all times. We should take things as normal,” she advised.

However, a founding member of the Lagos Business School, Prof. Pat Utomi, said that a situation where people cannot have access to cash during Christmas is totally bad.

According to him, Christmas is a season when many economies get their boost from the volume of transactions that take place in their homes and countries.

Utomi added that, “it is clearly not a nice one in Nigeria for people not to have access to the naira at Christmas. This could make a complete knock down for families and persons, economy and the country.” He urged the CBN to ensure the availability of cash for use during this festive season. He explained that it is a good thing to go cashless but noted it has to be gradual and progressive until a high percentage of the populace are banked.

Utomi added: “Of course, I’m aware that the CBN has been pushing for a cashless economy. The implementation could be gradual because millions of Nigerians are still unbanked. They don’t have accounts in the banks so if you are saying you are going cashless, then you are removing them from transaction; remember that the economy is small. Even the ones that are banked do not have facilities after transfers; they come out to still have problem of cashing such monies’’.

“You can’t imagine people going to withdraw money from ATMs or in the banks and are told no cash; this is frustrating,” he added. On his part, Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella of the Department of Economics, Onabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye, Ondo State, said the development was affecting both consumers and sellers and by implication, producers as well.

“Although the alternatives are there for medium and big businesses in terms of e-banking but the small businesses are seriously affected. Of course, faith in banking services is being lost because many people’s cash are trapped. It seems the implications for the economy are lost to CBN,” he noted.

Also, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has decried the current Naira scarcity being witnessed in various parts of the country.

In a release issued by CACOL’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo, on behalf of the chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he noted: “We have observed that barely a year after the CBN redesign that ended up as a colossal fiasco and subjected our people to untold hardships, naira scarcity has resurfaced in the country.

“It was reported that since last month, banks started imposing daily individual withdrawal limits of between N20,000 to N40,000, which was mainly due to the shortage of cash in their vaults. Although the Central Bank has tried to assuage the apprehension of the people by repeatedly assuring the people that it had supplied the banks with enough cash but the situation is yet to improve. As we speak now, you cannot withdraw more than N10,000 in some banks. This is not a good time for this anomaly as we are approaching the festive season when majority of our people who rely on cash transactions would likely demand for more cash to facilitate their various transactions.

“We would like to use this medium to call on the Federal Government and the Central Bank to do all within their power to push enough cash into circulation as our people don’t deserve to be treated as slaves in their fatherland. They have worked hard for their money and they deserve to access cash whenever they need it. A stitch in time saves nine. The situation should not be allowed to degenerate beyond the level it is now, so that the government will not be seen to be pushing the majority of the people who are already bearing the brunt of the misgovernance of the few to the wall, which may lead to dire consequences not only for the economy but also for the peace and tranquility of the country as a whole.”

Meanwhile, The Guardian observed that cash transactions have improved in Kano State after weeks of poor circulation of naira notes. It was also gathered that the initial policy on cash limit placed on withdrawal by bank customers has been halted across major financial institutions in the state following the intervention of the CBN.

Muhideen Fesobi, a meat seller in Yankura market in Kano metropolis, said cash scarcity has since varnished as customers were coming to the market with various denominations of naira notes.

“For now, we no longer witness any scarcity of cash because more than 80 per cent of my customers now come to market with their cash at hand. The situation was bad two weeks ago but things have normalised,” he said.

Ike Jerry, business man, also said: “I don’t think there is any scarcity of cash again in Kano because as I am talking to you I withdrew money from the bank today and yesterda and there was nothing like cash limit. Everyone now withdraws their money without hindrance. We just hope there will not be problem again before Christmas,” Jerry noted.

THE GUARDIAN