As the cashless economy recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria continues to bite, some Nigerians have bemoaned adverse effects of the policy at a funeral service, especially the pains and untold hardships it has inflicted on the people.
The Chairman of Akwa Ibom Civil Service Commission, Mrs Ekerebong Umoh, and a retired Permanent Secretary in Akwa Ibom, Mrs. Ikemesit Ekpro, did not spare the negative impacts of the policy on the people at the funeral service of Elder (Mrs) Maginah Elkanah Akpabio, at Edem Idim Ishiet in Onna Local Government Area of the state on Friday, March 24.
Despite Supreme Court order for the old and new Naira notes to run together till December 31, 2023, the apex bank under Godwin Emefiele as Governor is yet to inject sufficient funds into the system to abate the sufferings of many commercial banks’ customers in the country.
In her condolence message, Mrs. Ekerebong Umoh described as unimaginable and unbearable pains, the poor network customers often experience while using bank apps in mobile phones or, through the POS system for transactions in addition to waiting on long queues under the harsh sunlight and even in the rain for hours to collect their money.
According to her, sometimes people return home after the long wait without banks dispensing cash to them, thus leaving them hopeless and in very desperate situation.
She, however, commended the Nigerian masses for their tolerance, patience and resilience demonstrated in the face of these unwarranted hardships by the apex bank.
“Ordinarily, a cashless economy as practised in developed countries, is a very easy-going, seamlessly run financial policy; but in Nigeria, the terrible sufferings placed on the people by the Emefiele-led Central Bank of Nigeria, is turning the policy into a tale of woes,” she said.
“People can no longer buy fruits even star apple, due to lack of money in our handbags and those who have money now use it as an escape route not to assist the poor and needy around them. The common parlance now is ‘you know we are now cashless.
“Emefiele seems to have forgotten all about the sufferings of the poor masses of Nigeria, under his poorly managed cashless economy; little wonder that, here he has been nicknamed-“Emefre,” indicating that he has completely forgotten about us,” the retired Head of Civil Service stressed.
The Civil Service Commission boss said, she was in sympathy with members of the bereaved family because she can only imagine the torture they went through in organising the funeral ceremony under the terrible poor cash situation in the land, congratulating the bereaved on the successful burial of their mother, (Mrs) Akpabio, who she said was her mother’s childhood friend.
Also, Mrs. Ikemesit Ekpro was peeved over the poorly executed cashless policy in the country, stating that in other climes, the people would have vehemently resisted or revolted by now, because of the inhuman treatment meted to them, but thanked Nigerians for stunning the world by remaining calmed and focused in the face of the monetary hardship.
“In other climes, the elections wouldn’t have held with so much pains and uncertainty, but we calmly went through the election processes successfully.
“It was said that everything will be normalised after the elections, but there is no change in the monetary transactions even with the re-injection of old currencies into the system,” the retired Permanent Secretary recalled.
Mrs. Ekpro, however, congratulated the bereaved family for sailing through the harsh monetary condition to host the burial of their late mother described as a “no-nonsense woman,” in her hey days, then at White House in Calabar, capital of Cross River where she held sway her business in “Bata shoes” and other enterprising ventures.
Speaking too on the pains of the cashless economy, the representative of the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mrs Grace Akpan, hoped that the sufferings would soon be over, and urged Nigerians to be patient, tolerant and resilient in the face of the hardships.
A daughter of the departed and a Principal Information officer at the Akwa Ibom State Liaison Office, Lagos, Mrs. Grace Edem thanked the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Comrade Ini Ememobong; the Permanent Secretary, Akparawa James Edet, the management and staffers of the Ministry for turning out en masse to accord their mother the last respect.
