December 24, (THEWILL) – For millions of Nigeria, financial history appears to be repeating itself with vengeance. Money, which, according to a holy book, “answereth all things” may not be as available as desired during the Yuletide.
Just as it happened between October 26, 2022 and January 31, 202 2022, when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced and implemented the naira redesign policy and most Nigerians experienced a cash crunch and stayed on queues for agonizingly long hours inside banking halls and at ATM galleries to withdraw cash, they have started once again to move from the banking hall to ATMs in search of hard-earned money this December.
The same cash crunch has returned at 2023 year-end, though for a different reason. ATMs are dry and across-the-counter withdrawals are unsure, even for less than N10, 000. Banks blame the situation on the CBN. The apex bank, they say, is not supplying cash. On the other hand, the CBN claims the banks are colluding with Point of Sale operators to hoard currency notes. And Nigerians, who bear the brunt, are encouraged by the Ag CBN Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali “to use alternative payment channels as well as report any case of unauthorised activities, such as capping and hoarding by banks or PoS agents to the CBN branch in their locations…”
“There is money, nothing to fear about that,” said a business economist, Mr Nik Ogbulie, publisher of Money Reports.
Ogbulue told THEWILL at the weekend that the challenge, however, is managing the CBN policy of financial inclusion for millions of Nigerians outside the formal sector.
Some customers who had to leave the suburbs for places like the G.R.A in Ikeja, where they thought it would be easier to withdraw money, were disappointed. Some of them who narrated their experiences to THEWILL said commercial banks in Joel Ogunaike, Isaac John and Sobowale streets paid them less than N10,000 except a customer deposits large sums in their presence. The ATMs were not dispensing cash either.
Ogbulie said, “The apex bank wants to encourage the usage of e-platforms, plastic cards, e-Naira wallet, PoS and transfer. It has to do with the CBN introduction of the market whereby the apex bank started withdrawing money in circulation and replacing it with digital currency. But, I suspect that they are yet to know the amount of money in circulation. But the whole idea is to stem inflation. But how can you control inflation in a situation where there is no productivity?”
But the end result for many Nigerians is lack of money to travel and shop for the Yuletide.
BACKGROUND
Indeed, last week’s National Bureau of Statistic, NBS, report for the month of November, 2023 paints the picture of an economy that is yet to respond to government’s policies from its comatose position during the preceding administration.
According to the NBS, Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose to 28.20 percent in November from 27.33 percent in the previous month.
The Statistics Office said the November 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.87 percent points when compared to the October 2023 headline inflation rate.
The NBS said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.73 percent points higher, compared to the rate recorded in November 2022, which was 21.47 percent.
The NBS also said the food inflation rate in November 2023 increased by 32.84 percent on a year-on-year basis, which was 8.72 percent points higher, compared to the rate recorded in November 2022 (24.13 percent).
In recent years, food prices have been on the rise across Nigeria. The current situation deteriorated due to the impact of government policies, such as the removal of subsidies on petrol, the current naira depreciation in the parallel market, logistics costs and rising food prices, among others.
This development has caused hardship for many Nigerians with an attendant increase in the prices of goods and services.
“Statistically, we are back in the woods. Inflation and employment rates are high and finances are bad. It is not just a bleak Yuletide, it is a bleak future unless the government does something drastically different.”
President Bola Tinubu, however, thinks otherwise.
Speaking at a ceremony in Lagos on Friday, a day after he jetted into the commercial nerve-centre of the country for his holiday, he said, “We are committed to enthroning a better society for our citizens, irrespective of ethnic, religious or geographical differences. The various policies in place are expected to bring succour to our people. We know their pains and we are addressing them holistically.
“The recent 50 per cent cut in inter- state bus fares nationwide and the payment of N-Power beneficiaries’ backlog of allowances, among other reliefs, are all efforts aimed at alleviating the burden of Nigerians this festive season with more to be expected in the coming year.”
Explaining the details earlier, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, who chaired the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Presidential Intervention, said the 50 per cent reduction in fares was arrived at in conjunction with companies operating luxury buses and President Bola Tinubu had directed that commuters on all train services would get free rides from December 21, 2023, to January 4, 2024.
50% Fare Reduction, N-Power Beneficiaries
These interventions announced by President Bola Tinubu recently are ongoing albeit in a jerky manner. The N-Power programme initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 to address the issues of youth unemployment and help increase social development had fallen on bad times with the accumulation of arrears.
Last week the Federal Government revived it and paid the arrears of 400,000 youths across the country.
According to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Beta Edu, the programme has been restructured to create jobs and reduce unemployment in the country, though she was quick to avoid ambiguity and clarified, “The Renewed Hope N-Power has not been relaunched yet. We are still trying to deal with the baggage from the previous years. So, these are persons who were owed money for a few months.”
The cash transfer programme of N25,000 to 15 Nigerian households, as promised by the administration shortly after the removal of subsidy on petrol in June, is another empowerment project. It is just about to be implemented, almost seven months after.
Explaining this delay in Lokoja, where she had gone to launch the programme last Thursday, National Enrolment Manager, National Cash Transfer Office, Hajiya Sadiya Abdullahi, said that most of the beneficiaries are unbanked and have to undergo data capturing.
Mrs Bridget James, the Head of Operation, Kogi Cash Transfer Unit, said, “Most of the beneficiaries are unbanked, that is why we are capturing them to get their details so long their names are on the National Social Register (NSR).
“The capturing of their details will in turn qualify them to partake of the N25,000 monthly cash transfer for three months to cushion the adverse effects of fuel subsidy removal.” These jerks and starts, coupled with the after-effect of the removal of subsidy has impacted on the finances, health, productivity and livelihood of Nigeria.
The fare reduction exercise got off to a shaky start on Thursday and by Friday many bus owners had joined the initial official group of five, namely Chisco Transport, God Bless Ezenwanta Nig, ltd; The Young Shall Grow Ltd, God is Good and Area Motor. The new members who joined by Friday are Izuchukwu Transport Nigeria. Ltd; ABC Transport Plc; GUO Transport Ltd; SD Express Ltd; Welfare Transport Nig. Ltd; Ifesinachi Transport Nigeria. Ltd; E Ekesons Nig. Ltd; Ifeanyi Chukwu Industries and Commercial Ltd; Bonnyway Motor Ltd; and Delta Express Ltd.
ALBON President, Nonso Ubajaka and Secretary, Frank Nneji, who confirmed this development said “All intending passengers on the above listed transporters are requested to go to our members’ various bus stations nationwide to book and board our buses on payment of only 50 percent (half the price) of the current bus fare on the principle of ‘first come, first served,’ on daily basis during the period.
Explaining the meaning of “first come, first served,” to THEWILL Correspondent, a manager in one the bus terminal at Mazamaza in the Festac Town area of Lagos said that passengers who come after the allocation for the day is taken may have to pay the full fare.
According to ALBON Frank Nneji the bus owners “are providing 11,118 seats per day for the duration of the exercise, which ends on January 4, 2024.”
In another instant, it was observed that many of the bus owners, who keyed into the position beside the initial five officially approved transporters, expect that it might enable them to establish a form of business relationship with the government that will in turn help them to consolidate their businesses in many ways. None was ready to disclose the financial rewards awaiting them, if any. A manager said he was acting to instruction to operate the scheme to the letter and had no detail of the plans.
For those intending to travel by rail, the Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, announced that passengers must obtain free tickets through e-ticketing platforms only as none of its train stations would issue no ticket. How far these measures have eased the transport situations of passengers is debatable. Our Correspondent who was at Mobolaji Johnson Station at Ebute Metta on Murtala Mohammed Way, Lagos met a crowd that was unprecedented. The NRC people said the train had been fully booked through Sunday
Reacting to the development through his X platform account on Friday, The presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi commended the intervention intended to help the masses, saying it was the right step in the right direction.
He however queried whether due process was followed in its implementation and expressed doubts about check and balances and the level of compliance by the transporters, adding that after conducting checks through contacts across major parks in the country, he was sure there were “obvious questions about the integrity” of this intervention effort.
Obi said, “One expects that such a policy that strives to appeal to the broad masses, especially the downtrodden, should be made with transport companies.
“I pray that this is not yet another spin to curry favour in the media space after appetising the people. The Nigerian people are going through untold hardship, and the government must not remain insensitive to their sufferings.”
UNTOLD HARDSHIP IN THE STATES
For millions of Nigerians, the yuletide is indeed bleak, having waited for seven months for governance policies to begin to make the desired impact in their lives.
LAGOS
As the commercial nerve-centre of the country, Lagos is home to many outlets for opportunities, even underemployment. Yet, like many other big cities, it can be expensive to live in. The costs of transportation, utilities and food have been on the rise since the removal of the subsidy on petrol. Portable water is lacking in many parts of the state and residents have to power boreholes with fuel engines. Transportation costs have also risen astronomically. Commercial bus drivers have no fixed fares. They use a rule of the thumb, capitalising on rush hours, late nights and weather to hike fares without notice. At the beginning of subsidy removal, the Lagos State Government subsidised the fares on the Bus Rapid Transport for residents. It stopped after three months. As part of its support to workers in the state, the government paid handsome bonuses in December.
Ponle Osimyemi, a teacher in one of the public schools, laments the inflationary pressures that has eaten up his salary, but he thinks Lagos still holds better opportunities than other states for its commercial nature.
IN JOS, RESIDENTS VOW TO WORK THROUGH YULETIDE TO MAKE ENDS MEET
In Jos, capital of Plateau State, it appears the residents have resolved to continue to eke out a living to keep body and soul together, as if the merriment and rest implied in the Yuletide has lost its meaning.
A motor spare parts dealer at Al Gadama Junction, along Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Way, Jos, assured our reporter when he visited that his shop would be open all the time during the Yuletide.
At the Plateau Riders Motor Park in high-brow Terminus area of Jos, a food vendor, Laraba, told our reporter that she would not travel to anywhere for Christmas and her business would continue as usual through Boxing Day, December 26.
At the business nerve centre on Ahmadu Bello Way, buying and selling was in progress. Shop owners who dealt in food items, kitchen utensils and textile materials admitted that there was some increase in the volume of sales, but not “the way it used to be.” They promised to keep their shops open through the festivities.
At Ferin Gada Market, tomatoes, pepper, carrots, green beans and beverages were in high demand, as the price for a four-liter paint container of tomatoes sold for as much as N1,500 up from N750 naira, while the same measure of onions which has been in short supply in the past one month before the Yuletide was selling for N3,500, up from N1,500.
Between Chobe Market in Apata area of Jos and the famous Katako Market in Laranto, high human traffic patronised used or second hand clothing.
Transport fares were increased by as much as N3,000 naira, especially with persistent fuel scarcity and pump price standing between 650 and 700 naira.
BENUE RESIDENTS LAMENT HIGH COST OF LIVING
In Benue State, the cost of transportation is going beyond the reach of many as motorcyclists no longer charge less than N250 for a trip that used to cost N100, no thanks to the removal of the subsidy on petrol. As a result, the cost of food items has increased. Market women at Wurukum have decried the cost of doing business, just as the Chairman of Goat Sellers Association, Mr Justin Gbam, told our correspondent that patronage has dropped as potential buyers are unable to afford the prices of goats.
The Chairman of Mbagbera Development Association, Makurdi branch, Mr Paul Nongo, echoes the pastor in his submission that attendance at meetings have dropped; saying most members are absent or coming late because they trek just to walk to save cost.
In a quest to cushion the effect of high cost of living, the Benue State Government has reduced the transport fare of Benue Links Transport Company Limited on all routes. Under the new arrangement, a fare from Makurdi to Gboko which used to be N1200 is now N500, while Makurdi to Otukpo is N2000 among other routes.
There is nothing to show that there is a 50 per cent reduction in bus fares by the Federal Government in Benue state at the moment.
GOVERNMENT STEPS IN TO MITIGATE SUFFERING IN C’RIVER
A Muslim leader in Cross River State, Shaban Abdullahi, described the situation as tense. He advised the government to look inwards in its efforts to address the challenges facing the people and urged residents to avoid extravagant lifestyles.
Abdullahi said, “The situation has been very tense because the high cost of things has made the people to lose confidence in many things.
“Although we are trying to preach that tough times don’t last, when the prices of goods and services increase, people feel very bad.”
Similarly, a chieftain of the Labour Party and religious leder in the state, Christ Patriarch Ogar Osim advised residents who have accumulated so much wealth to make it available to the needy in line with what the scriptures advised.
He said, “There is no time we will not have the poor and the rich. This time, we should be our brothers’ keeper and help others cushion the effect of these challenges.
“Nigerians should endure because the current challenges will not be for long.
The state government in an effort to mitigate the hardship has approved the distribution of 60 bags of rice to each of the 196 political wards of the state.”
PERSISTENT RISE IN COST OF LIVING IN AKWA IBOM
In oil rich Akwa Ibom State, the cost of living is increasing by at least 20 per cent every month since the beginning of 2023. It all started with the hoarding of Petroleum products, especially Premium Motors Spirit (Petrol) by marketers, which led to scarcity of the product.
By the time hoarded fuel was released, the price had increased from N260 to N420 per litre and gradually rising to N670 per litre.
The cost of transportation, which to a large extent influenced the rise in the prices of other items, especially food items, within the state had tripled over the last seven months.
As Christmas approaches and inflation bites harder in the state, the state government has decided to pay 13th month salaries to civil servants in the state to cushion the effect of the hardship.
The only measure that seems to work minimally for a few hardworking individuals in the state, is the Own-A-Farm policy initiated by former governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, which requires people to cultivate vegetables like tomatoes, cucumber, pumpkin, etc, which are helpful to the farmers but not cheap because of the cost of improved seedlings and fertilisers.
Some persons who spoke to our correspondent at Akpan Andem Market expressed confusion on how they to cope with the stuation as the prices of goods and services are expected to go higher in the coming days.
“It is not easy with us family people, I withdrew N10, 000 from a PoS just now a few minutes ago, it is finished and what I have left is just what you see in this nylon bag. I just said let me window shop for chicken, the least mature broiler is N12, 000.”
IN SOKOTO, RESIDENTS BEMOAN HARSH LIVING CONDITIONS
In Sokoto State, the rising cost of living and the diminished purchasing power of the naira are taking a huge toll on residents, ahead of the Yuletide.
Aside from the general increase in the cost of food items, most residents who had planned to celebrate the Yuletide season in their home states could not travel due to high cost of transportation.
Our correspondent who spoke to a cross-section of residents in the state, noted that the failing economy has not only affected households but also charity organisations who often provide succour to the less privileged during the Yuletide.
Mr Tosin Oladina, a native of Osun State who has lived in the state for a decade, said the current economic situation in the country had made him not to travel to his hometown to celebrate Christmas with relatives and childhood friends.
“This is the first time that I will be staying back with my family, instead of travelling to my hometown to make merry with my people due to lack of money and high cost of essential commodities,” he lamented.
Another resident, Mr. Godwin Okadigwu, a businessman who deals in fashion accessories, blamed the Federal Government for removing the subsidy on fuel.
“Since the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government the cost of living has skyrocketed and cost of transportation has never remained the same again.
“People are only looking for what to feed themselves and their families while no one cares about what to wear because of the economic hardship,” he said.
A civil servant named Dauda Assadu said he couldn’t afford Christmas chicken and had opted for substitutes, such as fish and beef measured in kilogrammes.
“Whatever I can find within my means will be used instead of chicken – fish, meat, or ponmo. There are school fees to be paid for the children in January.
“My take-home pay has become meaningless due to the rising cost of living and constant naira devaluation. Salaries have remained stagnant while prices of goods and services have tripled. With the current economic downturn in Nigeria, one has to live within his or her means,” he said.
In view of the current economic hardship, our correspondent recalls that in October, the Sokoto State Government declared a state of emergency on the food sector.
According to Alhaji Jabir Mai-Hula, the state Commissioner for Religious Affairs, the government approved N3.9 billion for the purchase of foodstuffs and distribution to the residents as part of its effort to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal in the state.
No fewer than 57,000 bags of 50kg of rice were purchased at the cost of N2.5 billion while 26,000 bags of 100kg of millet was cost at N1.4 bn, making a total of N3.9 billion.
