By Fred Nwaozor
To be candid and straightforward, I must say that it beats my psyche and it’s also an eyesore to see some of us behaving as newly recruited birds in a certain poultry yard. In the same vein, I also wish to state that it disgusts my sight to witness some scenes that has to do with most of the learned ones in our midst showcasing their dirty lilies like men of the underworlds.
Maybe I’ve been speaking in tongue; so let’s put it this way. There’s a phenomenon that has been existing in Nigeria for centuries now. And this has to do with the abuse of the naira notes amongst the users. Due to lack of formal education in the past, the elites in the midst used to believe that such anomaly was as a result of illiteracy. But lately, we the analysts have come to realize that such idiosyncrasy is never a product of illiteracy, rather ignorance coupled with impunity. Suffice to say that, even the elites constitute the aforementioned aberration.
On this note, I urge us to embark on a tour to the western nations with the sole aim of observing how their currencies are being handled by the users.
To start with; in the western world, United Kingdom to be precise, you would hardly see where the pound sterling is being sprayed in any occasion by the participants of such ceremony, coupled with other numerous policies as regards the use of such currency being strictly adhered to or observed by the users. Above all, every individual in such civilized society irrespective of his/her age is accustomed to a wallet for safe-keeping of the currency. In a nut shell, one could say that the members of the western societies adore their respective currencies.
On the contrary, it’s so devastating that the kind of civilization the Nigerians are used to is abuse of dressing code/mode. Recently, some of us have started dressing like expensive masquerades, or more disgustingly like high-rated baboons in our various forests. And when being asked or confronted, the participant of such dirty act would proudly tell you that we are passing through the civilized century/age. What a world!
Please pardon the digression. Meanwhile, our topic for today is the need for the torn naira notes in circulation to be continually replaced by the concerned authority.
It’s a slap on our faces and abuse of our image/dignity as a country and as the most populous black nation to see tore naira notes littered all over the nook and cranny of the Nigerian society still being used by the Nigerian occupants. It’s even more appalling to see the various banks in the country re-loading the said tore notes in their respective Automated-Teller Machines (ATM) or directly issuing such notes to their clients. The most devastating scenario is the situation whereby a banker at the counter refuses to receive a tore/bad naira note from his/her client. Then at this juncture, I ask; if the banks refuse to collect the bad naira notes, who else would receive it? Well, let’s ride on while we await the answer to that question.
Without taking more of our time; on the above note, I advise the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reawaken their policies amongst the existing commercial and micro-finance banks in Nigeria. They should mandate them to receive the naira notes regardless of its state/condition. On the other hand, they should also direct them not to reload any bad naira note in their various ATMs.
Secondly, the printing and minting sector ought to ensure that those bad notes collected by the banks are being remitted to them for replacement. And such practice must be made to be observed strictly by the banks. In this vein, the bad notes received by the sector should be burnt to ashes, which is known to be the culture in the sector.
Thirdly, the last but not the least, I also urge the law makers to enact a strict law forbidding any act among the citizens that intends to abuse the naira notes. A capital punishment should be issued to any defaulter of such law.
Beloved, we ought to introduce a new and enticing face in regard to the use and circulation of the naira notes, because it’s our identity and must be guarded. Think about it!
