Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba social and political organisation, claims that President Muhammadu Buhari's request for seven days to address issues brought on by a shortage of money in the nation is excessively long.
Afenifere claimed that President Buhari "does not appreciate the enormity and the intensity of the pains Nigerians are going through all in attempts to obtain cash from their accounts in banks across the country" in a press release issued on Saturday and signed by the group's National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi.
There had already been a number of fatalities, and social and economic life had been significantly slowed down, according to the report. "To say that the people can continue to live in suffering is to say that the nation must wait another seven days. that accidents can still happen, that enterprises can still be destroyed.
You might recall that President Buhari claimed he would make a decision "one way or the other" in the final seven days before the new currency exchange deadline. According to his spokesman, Garba Shehu, Buhari made this statement last Friday at the State House during a meeting with the Progressive Governors Forum. (The governors of the states where the All Progressives Congress, or APC, is in power, make up the Forum.)
In their meeting with the President, the governors explained to him how difficult it is for Nigerians to withdraw money from banks and swap their old Naira bills for new ones. In October of last year, the N1,000, N500, and N200 bills underwent a redesign by the Central Bank of Nigeria. By January 31, 2023, the old bills were supposed to be swapped out for new ones. Millions of Nigerians would not have been able to exchange their money by that time, nevertheless. not because they lacked motivation or exerted insufficient effort. The commercial banks that were supposed to provide them with the new banknotes claimed that the Central Bank had not provided enough, thus they were unable to obtain them.
The measure was reportedly endangering the "excellent records of the administration in reforming the economy," prompting the Progressive Governors Forum to implore the President to reconsider. There hasn't been any indication that the President is prepared to "act rapidly" as of the time this statement is made.
Afenifere urged the President to "act quickly" since the country's citizens' lives and economies are in grave risk due to the challenges they face in obtaining money and fuel.
Afenifere noted that the President's first term cabinet formation took around six months, and that his administration has a reputation for being slow to move when a quick decision is required. Since then, the President has earned the nickname "Baba Go-Slow."
The spokesperson for the organisation stated that the current circumstance "needs urgent, well-thought-out, and pro-people steps to halt the people's avoidable suffering."
Nigerians protested so much that Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, had to request permission from President Buhari to extend the deadline to February 10, 2023. This occurred on Sunday. However, Nigerians have struggled to get the old and new currency notes from their banks and other locations that deal with cash. People protested in some cities around the nation as a result of how awful things had gotten. Last Friday's protest in Ibadan caused at least two deaths.
Customers of banks discuss bad things that have happened to them. One consumer requested to withdraw N40,000, but was told that the most amount he could do was N4,000. The CBN issued a ludicrous directive last week stating that no one should withdraw more than N20,000 each day. In many regions of the nation, this sum is insufficient to sustain even modest businesses. Additionally, it is insufficient for those who desire to go across the entire nation.
It was evident from the frustration of Nigerians that their emotions were strong. In cities like Ibadan, Benin, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Bauchi, Lagos, etc., there was a lot of tension. This occurred despite Mr. Emefiele's claim that "the exercise has achieved a success rate of over 75% of the N2.7tn kept outside the banking system." Additionally, "Nigerians in the villages, the elderly, and the vulnerable have had the option to exchange their old notes." He announced this while announcing that the deadline would be delayed to February 10 on Sunday, January 29, 2023.
Ajayi then questioned why the situation was still so severe that individuals were still passing away a week after the exercise, even if it had been successful 75% of the time by the end of January. The governor of the CBN was also criticised by Afenifere for claiming that "Nigerians in the rural areas, villages, the elderly, and the weak have had the opportunity to swap their old notes." Afenifere questioned, "Why is there so much suffering in the land?" if this were true.
When people were trying to undermine the system, the spokesman advised them to desist, stating, "What goes around comes around." He mentioned this because there were rumours that some commercial banks were hoarding the new currency and that their personnel wouldn't put the notes in the ATMs in cities like Port Harcourt, Bauchi, Lagos, etc.
According to him, President Buhari should have the guts to order the CBN to saturate the banks with new notes while allowing both the old and the new ones to remain legal tender for at least the next three months.