Emefiele, the cabal and the currency entanglements

military dictatorship? If yes, the CBN may be right with its naira demonetisation policy, but if NO, the president and by extension, the apex bank may have erred in legality and processes and the entire activities has run afoul of legality and therefore must be stopped. If there are such records of consultations, the Cabinet Affairs Office should educate the public accordingly; otherwise, it will confirm the aforementioned policy design errors.

It suffices that we also look at Section 148(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as altered) (1999 Constitution) and raise a pertinent question: does the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (the President) ‘mandated in the exercise of his executive powers to hold regular meeting with the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Ministers (Federal Executive Council) to;

(a) determining the general direction of domestic and foreign policies of the Government of the Federation;

(b) coordinating the activities of the President, the Vice-President and the Ministers of the Government of the Federation, in the discharge of their executive responsibilities; and

(c) advising the President generally in the discharge of his executive functions other than those functions concerning which he is required by the Constitution to seek advice or act on the recommendation of any other person or body?’

It also has to be tested in the court of law whether or not by the provision of paragraph 19 of Third Schedule, Part One thereof of the Constitution, the President has no power to approve any recommendation concerning the economic affairs of the Federation unless such advice is considered by the National Economic Council? Otherwise, why is the body constituted?

And again, given Section 148 (2) of the 1999 Constitution and paragraph 19 of the Third Schedule thereof, can the President unilaterally without recourse to the Federal Executive Council and the National Economic Council, respectively, approve the Central Bank of Nigeria, for the redesign of N200, N500 and N1000 note and recall the old currency within three months? We are not a military or fascist dictatorship but a nascent democracy where healthy deliberations are expected.

Another pertinent question to ask is that in taking such a very critical decision, was there a budgetary provision for the demonetisation policy in the approved 2022 CBN Appropriation by the National Assembly? If not, the manner in which the policy has been conceived and being implemented goes against the Appropriation Act which calls for further legal and legislative queries.

And again, did CBN make consultations with NCC, NITDA and the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy with regard to the adequacy of telecom infrastructure density and citizens’ digital literacy to accommodate a cashless policy at this material time? Given that CBN has no control nor jurisdiction over these critical regulatory bodies, proceeding in a rash manner to enforce cashless policy despite the obvious infrastructural gap - which the World Bank in a recent publication noted - puts to question whether it is in the interest of the nation or personal interest.

And above all, was Emefiele and the CBN he presides over oblivious of the realities of the Nigeria nation to the point that they act based on book theories without regard for pertinent realities of our people and system? Access to Banking facilities and active bank users in Nigeria are respectively 122.3 million, majorly 24 commercial banks and while the Nigerian population stands at 221 million. However, England with a population of 63 million has over 357 commercial banks. South Africa with a population of 60.3 million has 63 commercial banks and Ghana with 33.5 million people has 23 commercial banks. The import of this data is simple: Nigerian commercial banks have limited capacity to handle the high traffic of Internet banking for over even a mere 30 million daily hits and will have to collectively increase their infrastructure to comfortably handle higher traffic. Internet connectivity in Nigeria is grossly below par with limited access and which is predominantly in urban settlements and major cities. The interiors and the rural areas have been largely unconnected. Also noteworthy is the deployment of 3G and older generation networks by telecom operators to rural and suburban settlements while 4G network is reserved mostly for the capitals and big cities; one implication of this which is largely ignored is that transmission from a 4G network to a 3G or 2G network and vice versa will be fraught with challenges.

Since a fortnight ago, currency shortage across the country has become acute, while the nation’s internet connectivity capacity has been exposed to be far below par with what is required for effective functioning of a digital economy as proposed by the apex bank. There has been recorded consistent challenges with bank transfer USSD codes, mobile app and web app usages causing transaction debits from source without subsequent crediting of target accounts - or the severe delay of such - as a result of poor internet connectivity on one hand, and more worrisome, the inaccessibility of the three main electronic channels, USSD code, mobile app and web app in most cases because of the same reason. Across the country, traders have resolved against accepting fund transfers as payment modes for transactions because of the challenges and that has made life more difficult for the citizens. Considering this challenge, it has become obvious that the country is not yet ripe for a digital economy. This has given the ubiquitous POS operators the power to extort exorbitant charges and make life even more difficult for Nigerians who have to pay as much as 20 percent as charges per withdrawal in most cases, and that is even if the cash is available.

One will think that with the growing tension and uncertainty across the country, that the deadline will be extended or the policy suspended; instead, some undisclosed individuals reportedly have approached a court - that most likely lacks jurisdiction on the matter - to obtain an order - not a judgement anyway - to not extend the deadline. Who are these individuals? Are they being sponsored by the CBN regime?

Another angle to consider is that our commercial banks are foremost, business oriented and apparently not some extension of public bureaucracy. They have their prime customers and of course, wealthy, active politicians are inclusive. Wouldn’t a profit making enterprise like a commercial bank choose first to attend to its prime customers who mostly are willing to play ball - and I don’t mean football - to get the new currencies while ignoring the rest customers who are mostly ordinary Nigerians? If the CBN governor with a long career in the local banking industry would fail to see this scenario, then, it would either mean he is grossly incompetent to not foresee it and recalibrate his demonetisation policy. Or could it be that he foresees it but does not care for the ordinary Nigerians who will, and indeed are now suffering because of his policy; or it may be just what he wants to stir the general public at the hit of the election campaigns against the ruling party which leads to the final consideration.

Is there not a political undertone to create nationwide protests in the manner of the 2020 ENDSARS protest? There are already viral reports of vandalisation of some commercial banks’ premises, attacks on bank staff and public threats to escalate the unrest across the country as a result of the nationwide shortage of cash. Why is the CBN governor still adamant over these glaring worsening crises across the nation? Can there be adequate supply of the new notes to the general public before 10th February 2023? And as the situation drags on towards Election Day, who benefits from these crises if not the leading opposition party? Could it be that some vested interest wants to push for an interim government by disrupting the election with the tortuous policies of fuel and cash scarcity to the general public? If the policy is not working or cannot work as it seems, is it not better to suspend and rework it for later implementation because we are at a critical point where the next leadership of the nation is to be determined in a matter of a few weeks.

God Bless The Federal Republic Of Nigeria!

FATIMA

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS FATUMA MOHAMMED B.C.J NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS FATIMA BCJ MOHAMMED. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

WONAH

ABDULRAZAK

SIRAJO

BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS SIRAJO A SHEHU. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

DAWAM

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS DASIM JOY DAVID NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS DAWAM JOY YOILA. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS ABDURAZAK SHEHU NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS ABDULRAZAK SHEHU. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS JOSEPHINE G. WONAH NOW WISH TO BE IDENTIFIED AND CALLED WONAH GRACE JOSEPHINE. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.