The cashless system is driving so many Nigerians crazy as life has become tougher, with people unable to feed and cater for their families anymore. Businesses are collapsing as it gets harder by the day to access cash. Faces wear clear signs of despair, confusion as hunger swells, following the inability of banks and mobile banking operators to dispense cash to customers.
For many in Rivers State, the new banking policy is a heavy knock coming on the heels of last year’s flooding which swept away most of what the people had. In most communities in the Niger Delta, a lot of lives were lost, buildings and properties were all destroyed by the floods. The heavy flooding claimed so many lives and properties, destroyed farmlands and drove many people away from their communities. They were still begging for support when the CBN policy commenced.
For them, the current state of affairs in the country is triple jeopardy.
A traditional ruler in one such communities, Chief Napoleon Ordu, told this publication that the suffering in his area is unimaginable.
“Let me tell you, we are truly suffering. You know how much damage the flood did to our farms, how many of us are homeless and have been begging for support. Now there is nobody to beg because nobody has cash. There is serious hunger in Obio communities,” he lamented.
Chief Ordu is angry because even though the state government which announced the release to a Flood Committee the sum of N1billion, the people did not receive any help.
“We are facing this new crisis without food in our farms and without money in our pockets or accounts,” he added.
Banks are referring customers to POS operators to get cash with heavy charges, as they only sell the little cash to POS operators to make profit; a trade by barter business.
Many people are blaming the hardship on President Muhammadu Buhari and Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank Governor.
Frustration has forced Nigerians to hit the streets in protest in many parts of the country. Protests were staged in states including, Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Ogun, Rivers.
In Port Harcourt, a lot of protests and riots were carried out on Ikwerre road, Mile 1 to Mile 3 axis of Port Harcourt. At the town axis, like Lagos bus stop, banks were burnt down and destroyed. Hoodlums snatched people’s bags and phones, the whole area went into chaos because of lack of cash to solve their problems.
Some narrated their ordeals to National Point on the harsh impact of the cashless policy which has seriously disorganized their lives.
On Friday, February 17, 2023, angry residents staged protests along Mile 1, Mile 2 and Mile 3 on Ikwere Road and Ada George area of Port Harcourt. Bankers were forced to flee.
A female staff of a bank at Mile 1, but living at Iwofe, who pleaded anonymity, narrated, explained how she and her colleagues escaped attack from the hoodlums when they went to destroy their bank.
“There’s riot going on in Ikwerre Road, from Mile 3 to Mile 1 and part of Ada George, roads are blocked. They came to destroy our bank while on duty and I managed to escape with my other colleagues. The riot is so serious, people are running, shops are vandalized, phones and bags are snatched because of no money to pay the people.
“This is my handbag which I used for work, I can’t go back to office again as I have escaped.”
She said the banks are cash strapped.
“There’s no money in the banks, even old and new notes are scarce. As of Thursday, all we had in our bank was dirty old N100 notes about N1million which was to be burnt or sent to CBN as waste product, but due to no cash in the bank and customers are queuing outside and inside, lamenting, the bank manager decided to dispense the old N100 notes to the people. It was rotten and smelling, only what they can pick out was only N10,000 out of N1million,”, she told National Point.
Some families stay hungry for lack of cash.
A man with four children at Aker, Rumuolumeni area of Port Harcourt, whose family stayed hungry throughout the night was weeping bitterly next day while sitting on the ground with the children by the road side. His problem was that he had old notes which nobody was ready to accept.
It took a good Samaritan to help out the family. A woman by the roadside who was frying akara felt pity for the hungry children and offered them akara and bread with water.
“I went to work yesterday, and was paid the old naira note, I could not use it to buy anything, my children slept without food, I don’t like seeing my children go hungry, I don’t know what to do, I am depressed.” The man lamented.
The cash crunch provided room for shortchanging helpless customers.
At St. John, along Iwofe Road, a super store, ‘Welcome You” was collecting the old notes and many people rushed there to purchase some items at inflated prices. Because of the large crowd, a fight burst out and the shop owner stopped collecting the old notes.
Another shop at Big Tree market still on that road was also collecting the old notes. Many people trooped in to get some food items at a very high price. A bottle of palm oil was sold at N3,000 against the old price of N2,000, Spaghetti at N700 from instead of N450, Maggi packet at N1000, instead of N600, rice half bag of rice rose to N20,000 to N25,000 instead of N18,000. Despite the emergency increase, people were eager to buy at even with POS transfer.
A man that boarded a tricycle, ‘Keke Napep’ said he used to pay N100 to his bus stop but because of new Naira note scarcity, he had to part with N500 because it was old note.
As the situation becomes tougher with POS operators unable to access cash from the banks, you see people moving to and fro the streets confused and frustrated
Some are walking the streets with different colours of shoes, no more concentration. In that state some have slumped, some have been knocked down by vehicles.
A woman, Chioma John, who lives at Iwofe by Aker Road, Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt shared her experience. With a few old notes and no food in the house she had gone out heading to the market. Lost in thought, she was hit by a driver trying to make a call while driving.
“I went to Elele market to sell, even if na two clothes I sell to buy garri at least for my children to drink. I get only few old naira notes for house. I de waka for road, I no know myself again because of thinking wetin my children go eat.
“Naim one driver wey dey press phone inside him car come jam me throway my goods. I lie down flat, I no know myself again. I stay for ground more than 30 minutes till my brain return back. The first thing wey enter my brain na my children. Na so I go die leave my children? Who go take care of them?
“Na di driver come down come carry me up, take me go nearby pharmacy and buy me drugs. Him give me N3,000. I come happy for the N3,000 because I been no sell anything. I been dey think wetin my children go chop. That na why I say maybe na God make am that way, so that my children go eat; na him make I no die”.
Madam Chioma said the lesson from the pains is that she has to vote out the government that brought the harsh policy.
“I get PVC, I go go out go vote. I don suffer too much with my children for hunger. I want vote Obi, Papa, Mama and Pikin party, she said.”
A major headache in the cashless policy is that transfers are not smooth. Many accounts are being debited without cash and access to banks are difficult especially after the riots. And when you go to the banks for direct transactions, most customers are paid N2,000, N3,000 which cannot serve any purpose.
Elder Dandy Mgbemena travelled from his Okwuzi Community to Omoku, after paying N1,000 as transport to the bank and queuing for hours, he was paid N2,000. Would have been better he did not bother.
Traders who have become the last resort of the people also complain of finding it difficult to restock.
Madam Felicia Ene, a drinks vendor at Rumuigbo complained Wednesday, that she could not buy from her supplier as he demanded cash and all she could come up with was a transfer.
”Things are really tough. I collect transfers but today, I could not buy anything as my supplier demanded for cash. Everybody needs cash at some point but, I didn’t have to give him. It is really affecting my business.
A neighbor who is a food vendor complained of delay. You have to wait for the transfer to reflect before you can move to the next point she explained.
“It is not easy, see how long it takes me to buy in the market, five hours. Before you will just pick and pay but now you pick, wait for your turn to pay, for the payment to reflect before you move to the next point. The transporter is not going to accept online payment. He needs his cash”.
National Point also gathered that there are some hard-hearted human beings milking even the vulnerable. There are complaints that some lecturers at the Rivers State University, RSU even as everyone is crying, who are forcing students to buy handouts with the unavailable currency and with threats of being thrown out of the class.
Left with no respite, the general hope is that CBN releases cash immediately after the presidential election.