THE confusion and suffering that resulted from the apparently uncoordinated implementation of the cash swap exercise of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) cashless project continued last week with the action of three northern governors who secured a Supreme Court injunction to restrain the Federal Government from enforcing the February 10 deadline for swapping old currency notes through the regular financial outlets.
It was another addition to the confusion which has placed an unprecedented burden on the back of the masses and stalled a lot of activities in the last three weeks. Attention temporarily shifted from the busting of commercial banks that contributed to the cash squeeze and the protests triggered by the hardship. Discussions centred on the propriety of the action by the governors and the response of the apex bank, just as the squeeze continued amidst fuel scarcity and digital backbone failure which otherwise would have enabled cashless transactions.
Partisan politics played a central role in escalating the conversation in different directions and government compounded the contentions with the initial position of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) who contested the powers of the apex court on the matter. Meanwhile, the situation on ground did not improve and the people were left in the lurch, as usual. The Attorney General was to later buckle and the Council of State entered with the verdict of either the redesigned currency is made available in sufficient measure or the old ones should be allowed in the market side by side.
As these interventions were going on, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) almost poured fuel onto the already festering live coals with rather reckless statements issued by two of its state branches. The media, in a frenzy that has become very troubling, gave the regional statements a national toga and sent panic waves across the country. Apparently without consultation with the national body, secretaries of two state chapters had issued conflicting statements targeted at their local members, advising against further lifting of PMS and directing the shutting down of their outlets beginning the following Monday, until certain issues were resolved. Although no statement in that direction came from the national body, the media gave the sectional directives a nationwide outlook.
Given the tension in the land at the moment, as fuel and cash scarcity was still biting hard nationwide, that was an invitation to anarchy which again exposed the propensity of some Nigerians to capitalise on the pains of the people to make gains not minding the overall implication on national security and welfare of the people. If not for the swift intervention of the national body of IPMAN, which dispelled the information and restrained its members, that action would have been the last but devastating straw on the camel’s back. At the same moment, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) signalled the takeover of depot distribution to independent marketers as well as its own outlets nationwide. Why did NNPCL wait for such threats before taking an action that should ordinarily be routine?
This also brings to the fore the propensity of labour unions to threaten and actually employ strike action at the slightest provocation without any care about the implications to the larger society, which their members are also part of. Given the state of the nation at the time, shutting down product service stations should not have been contemplated by any patriotic entity, as the people’s backs were already on the ground. It was one very insensitive call from IPMAN and quite insensitive of the media to convert a sectional disposition to a national call. At times of national emergency, it behoves every institution to exercise some level of social responsibility.
Knowing the state of the country’s transport and power infrastructure, effective distribution of petroleum products has become an issue of critical national importance. Any stricture is capable of inflaming passions and igniting protests as these basic amenities are at the heart of the people’s economic survival. They help the people’s welfare and drive the country’s economy and security.
Availability of petroleum products across the country has become a perennial challenge for which the government is yet to find lasting solutions, in spite of the several reforms in the oil and gas industry. Players in the distribution and marketing chains have become very insensitive to the plight of the people as they operate without care about the collateral damage inflicted on the economy of both families and the country.
In most parts of the country, the common fuels: petrol, diesel and kerosene have been selling at prices fixed whimsically by marketers while in major cities like Lagos and Abuja epileptic supplies and long queues have become the regular feature for almost a year now. Coupled with the cash crunch triggered by the currency redesign fallout, the people are being subjected to the harshest environment in decades. No cash and no fuel!
Although the NNPCL has insisted consistently on normal and regular fuel supply, the products are being sold more in jerry cans on the streets than from the pumps at the product service stations. The bulk is reportedly being smuggled out of the country. Curiously, with the cash crunch and inability of motorists to buy from the streets the service stations are now open and dispensing, but only to those who can afford cash or are with receipts from their designated POS operators.
The overloading of the financial digital backbone has made such online transactions burdensome and in most cases impossible, thus increasing the plight of the people; a development which has already triggered protests in some parts of the country including Benin, Ibadan, Abeokuta and some parts of Lagos. There were also some unbecoming scenes in banks in Lagos, a cumulative development that led to the shutting down of some bank branch offices to avoid attacks by frustrated customers and angry mobs.
If banks are not being patriotic enough to follow the plan of the Central Bank, then there is a problem. If we don’t have petrol at service stations and NNPCL says we have enough to go round, then there is a problem. If INEC says Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) are available at collection centres and the owners have to go through hell to get them, then there is a problem. If petrol is smuggled across the borders and the various border patrol agencies can do nothing about it, then there is a problem.
It would be hard not to read all the Naira chaos as an election ploy to give an excuse to tamper with the smooth run of the scheduled general election, or to stoke chaos in order to give cover for election malfeasance. And even if that is not true, many will still suspect it; and it will undermine the fragile trust people have in INEC. Whatever it is, it would not be out of place to assume that there is some element of sabotage which can be situated within the context of greed and promotion of vested interests. The people are being left to their own devices and pain. The question remains: Where is the government in all these?
Since the crisis accentuated by the cash swap fiasco started, there have been several motions within government circles without actual movements. There are criminals and saboteurs in every country of the world, but what makes the difference between one country and another in terms of conformity with rules and laws is what happens to those who flout them. In Nigeria, outlaws are emboldened because sanctions are hardly applied. The criminal justice system is loose and compromised. Criminals get away with blue murder. Vested interests become kings, uncontrollable and untouchable. In a country where everyone becomes a law unto himself, progress finds no place because strife and pain have become landlords.
It is once again our position that government must think through every policy prescription before embarking on implementation to avoid a situation where an otherwise good policy would become an albatross on the neck of the masses. Government must at all times summon the political will to deal drastically with saboteurs of its policies and provisions. It must ensure that petrol is sold at the official rate to justify the heavy subsidy and bridging costs. Government must always be proactive, to deal with threats before they become emergencies. A stitch in time, it is often said, saves nine.
Everything possible must be done to speedily address the challenges on ground to forestall breakdown of law and order. Government must activate all its resources and reduce the tension in the land. The suffering is palpable. When people are pushed to the wall, they are bound to react out of sheer instinct to survive. The consequences might be grave and that must not happen as we are approaching the commencement of general elections in a fortnight. The sufferings in the land must stop and the general elections must hold.
Comments are closed.