By Boma Nwuke
By and large, the frustration created by the cash squeeze provided an impetus for some riots in some parts of the country. There were protests in Oyo State,Ogun, Edo State and Lagos. Public and private properties were destroyed and lives reportedly lost.
But inspite of the dangerous trend which could have led to an open revolt, the CBN maintained its ‘no-going-back-stance’ premised on the February 10 deadline.
However, seeing the pain that the currency scarcity was having on people within their states, three wise governors decided to take the matter to the highest court. And sought an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria from holding on to the February 10 deadline.
Recall that the decision to head to the Supreme Court came after APC governors met with President Buhari to seek an extension. The governors had gone to see Mr President to request him to allow the old notes and the new ones to coexist. But they were largely disappointed as Buhari neither wavered nor shivered.
Although some governors came out of the meeting looking perturbed after what seemed like a hopeless encounter, they managed to tell the press at the Presidentisl Villa of the President’s promise to look at their request. Of course, their request was to be examined within 7 days as Buhari’s statement on Twitter shortly after meeting with the governors revealed.
No one was sure of what the President’s seven – day move would lead to. It was possible thst the monolithic chant that “the cash swap will boost the economy and end vote buying” could be the appropriate response to the quest by Nigerians for a review.
Governors who were supposed by party convention to support the president, having seen the negative impact of the CBN policy on Nigerians, went to the Apex court , the final arbiter in judicial matters to seek for help.
Following their prayers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday, February 8 ordered the CBN to stop the policy with immediate effect pending the determination of the suit.
By the ruling of the seven member panel, the Supreme Court indeed proved that it is the last hope of the common man. The ordinary man on the streets who has no godfather, no one to push him to where he can pick crumbs from under the table of those urging the CBN to go ahead with the malicious policy is heaving sighs of relief.
Average Nigerians who ought to be the beneficiaries of a cashless society have from the run of events suffered terribly. Unable to lay their hands on currencies that are trapped in banks, they have turned sufferers in the hands of greedy PoS operators whose commission on funds withdrawn has reached rocket levels.
So, the ruling of the Supreme Court was a reprieve. In taking that significant posture, a Daniel came to judgement. Since fixing the hearing for the 15th of this month more states have applied to join the suit. They include Niger, Kano, Rivers and Ekiti states.
In the meantime, the Nigerian Governors Forum has described the cash swap policy as draconian and asked the Central Bank to discontinue with its implementation.
These positive signs which are helping to reduce tension should indeed be a lesson to some “shoe-shine” activists who operate under the aegis of the Association of Civil Society Groups.
While there was wild jubilation over the ruling of the supreme court, these rascals assembled at some venue and for more than one hour on live television ( ARiISE TV) cast aspersions on the Supreme Court of Nigeria, calling Justices of the court all sorts of unprintable names.
One Mr Obed Okwukwe, who claimed to be the leader of the Civil Society groups in a Press conference said that the Supreme Court lacks the locus to entertain a matter affecting the state and the Federal Government. Can you beat that!
As if that was not enough, Okwukwe asked the apex court to immediately vacate the exparte order restraining the CBN and commercial banks to allow the February 10 deadline to remain in place.
Their guttural outbursts, I am certain, also reminded those of us who saw how some ugly Nigerians participated in the June 12 election debacle that another June 12 gambit is again loading.
Seeing those so – called CSOs abusing the Supreme Court for a course beneficial to the masses makes me wonder if they were truly Nigerians, who live and do business in the country.
I watched not with delight but with displeasure and shame as these young Nigerians who I believe belong to the group clamouring for a ” not too young to rule” agenda made mince meat of reason and decorum.
While watching with utter disgust, yet with the inclination of a journalist trained to analyse issues, appreciate the mood of the people and engage in agenda setting, I realized that some of those acting as members of CSOs who appeared unkempt and unscrupulous were not the ones who could have raised the amount of money required to buy more than an hour of prime time.
So who sponsored them and why? Who was trying fool a nation of more than two hundred million people? Who was trying to plunge the nation into crisis and possibly derail the electoral process?
The audacity of foolishness exhibited by these so-called civil society elements especially after it became clear that a properly constituted court had done the needful showed how desperate these nonconformists were to complete the nihilist assignment ordered by their paymasters.
I am glad the Supreme Court has warned against unguarded comments by those who seek to enjoy free speech without paying heed to the constitutional responsibility attached to it.
Anyways, a thousand CSOs and politicians could be commissioned to do the hatchet job of kicking against the ruling which has stopped the cash swap policy. However, they may never be able to subdue the will of the Nigerian people, or actualize the ambition of a section of the power elite to use their exalted positions to clip the wings of other law abiding people who may include politicians of repute.
As a matter of fact, whatever they intended to achieve by starving Nigerians of money and causing a painful fuel shortage has completely backfired. These developments have set them and their cronies in the political space apart from the electorate. Some principled persons who had sympathy for their course initially are gradually shifting support to other candidates who are more pro-people.
The inconsistency and inarguably the incompetence demonstrated by the CBN and its allies in the Buhari government to foist on Nigerians, a phoney image of an incorruptible regime has engineered a consciousness that is turning the tables against the actors of the demonic cash policy.
Nigerians have come to know that the CBN had all along in pursuit of some politicians, planned to hurt their feelings
. Otherwise, how can the bank mop up over N3 trillion old naira notes and print about N3billiion newly designed notes in a country of over 200 million people?
We have heard that the apex bank is prepared to mint more notes for onward circulation. We wish it won’t tarry too long, given the parlous situation that the people find themselves. We warn that delay in dealing with the cash squeeze could be dangerous. Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gunpowder. Nobody should be in any doubt about this fact.
