Many Nigerians are currently battling to make ends meet due to a lack of the recently released N200, N500, and N1000 currency notes. Artisans and petty dealers who depend primarily on cash for their everyday operations are the most severely affected as majority of them have experienced a sharp decline in business.
“I have not been able to buy plantains in the past month because I have not been able to access cash. Point of Sales agents charge N15,000 for every N100,000 one wants to collect from them. I do not make N15,000 profit from N100,000 worth of plantain that I buy,” Dotun Omotayo, a trader at Plantain Market, Mile 12, Lagos said to a correspondent from Punch Newspaper.
Another trader Kehinde Ismail bemoaned the lacklustre sales, which had compelled her to spend some time away from the market. After learning that the Central Bank of Nigeria had authorised the reissuance of the old naira notes, she reportedly went back to the market.
According to her: “I have been doing different menial jobs to feed since I have been unable to sell plantains and they got spoiled.
“Despite the announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria that to the old notes remain legal lenders, the farmers are not collecting them, making it difficult for us to do our businesses.”
Reacting to the subject matter, Opeyemi Azeez who sells casual footwears said, “I have been here since 6:00 am and I have not had any sales. This issue has caused controversies in my home because my husband does not drop money anymore. He cannot even commute to work because of this naira scarcity. The only sale I have made is N1,200, which is my transportation fare back home.”
Dr. Ayo Teriba, the Chief Executive Officer of Economic Associate, responded by calling for changes to the Central Bank of Nigeria to make it a law-abiding organisation.
“It is almost pushing the nation to the realisation that instead of reforming the country’s currency, it is the CBN itself that needs to be reformed so that it would become a law-respecting agency. It recklessly announces unreasonable policies and demonstrates arrogance when you see riots all over the place, banks being attacked, and you kept quiet. That is arrogance.”
