I was driving down a rather busy road the other day when I saw a petrol station that had just two cars at each dispensing unit. It was a rarity in these days of queues. I quickly made a detour. I was not too surprised that the dispensing price was 220 Naira per litre. It was the first hurdle. The second hurdle was the mode of payment. There was no ‘service’ for the POS the attendants had on offer. I had to scrape whatever money I had on me to make payment, after which I asked the manager what would happen from January with Central Bank’s cashless policy. She told me tongue-in- cheek that ‘we would take each day as it comes’. (In a way, that is what we might all have to do including the Government). A week before that, I had gone to a popular supermarket to buy some things. After queueing for my turn, I was told after a couple of trials, that my card was not going through. Did I have another card? There was none with me. I was advised to go to the bank next door to get cash. The bank’s ATM also didn’t dispense money to me. The security guy tried to help. No success. He then suggested that maybe my bank was having network issues. I had to abandon my purchases after about a fruitless hour. A month before then, I was at a bank for some transactions and decided to renew my DSTV subscription. I filled the form and gave it to an officer who told me after some futile trials that the portal for payment was down. Could I step outside to collect cash from ATM machine or do a teller transfer? I opted for the latter. There was a time a year before, when I wanted to pre-purchase electricity in my estate through POS. The lady in charge unwittingly added a zero to the amount making 20k to become 200k. She was flustered since she had no way of refunding the money. She called her immediate boss who couldn’t help her. After several unproductive and uncomfortable moments, I asked her to transfer the 180k to my service charge account. Was she relieved? The last example for the moment was when I went to a high brow club where one of the machines dispenses crisp thousand Naira notes. This time, money wasn’t dispensed and my card wasn’t released. It took time and an intervention before I could get my card back.

I can go on about my experiences about online transactions. But whatever experience I have, those who use it more than I do have more. Many business deals have been lulled or even aborted because money leaves one account but does not reflect in the other. Or worse, money refuses to leave an account when time is of the essence for profitable transactions. Yet, when it is seamless, it can be a most beautiful and efficient way to transact business. It saves time, cuts down risks, and limits cash exposure. But then, there is always the option of cash when e-transfer fails. It is this option that the CBN in its wisdom wants to remove almost completely. What the CBN’s withdrawal policy seems to be saying is that all transactions including purchases at the local stores must be done electronically even when the e-system is wobbly; even when a vast population of rural Nigerians have little or no clue. In doing so, it is removing the important aspect of choice. And in the cities, the daily cash withdrawal of 20k in denominations of two hundred Naira and below can only serve as tips since I can’t imagine what 200 Naira can buy in this economy today. And has anybody thought it through to imagine how many 200 Naira notes will have to be dispensed through the ATMs everyday? Or that one would need a small Ghana Must Go bag (GMG) just to visit the ATM?

In trying to enact such a radical and transformative policy, one would expect more work to have been done on the workability of the policy. Areas of concern include the internet penetration within and outside the cities, level of literacy in the country especially in the rural areas, phone penetration among the poor and subsistent traders, efficiency of the system as it currently operates. It is foolhardy to expect those who feed from hand to mouth to rely on electronic transactions. It is also asking for a bit to expect those who dash after moving vehicles to have time to count money paid in 200 Naira notes for a 6k transaction. It will be interesting to know what percentage of Nigerians actually have a bank account. Is there any enlightenment policy in place to allay the fears of those who don’t? Is the government doing anything about the numerous bank charges that are slowly bleeding people? And can the system accommodate the millions of Nigerians who are outside the banking system in the barely three -week window that remains? Then of course there is the trust issue in electronic transfers which will take getting used to.

As laudable as the policy can be, it is a gradual project that simply can’t be rushed until we develop the where-with-all for it. If this policy is not suspended or postponed, it is likely to result in chaos and frustration for the already frustrated poor people in the country. Somebody has to tell a hungry, illiterate man why he can’t access his money however he wants.

The rather indecent haste to implement these recent currency moves of the CBN makes one to wonder if there is something they are not telling us. Are they targeted at people who are contesting the February elections or are there deeper, more troubling problems with economy than we are being told? If it is the latter, then we have cause to be very worried as the situation in Lebanon where people can’t access their money comes to mind. If it is the former, then it is unfortunate that Mr Emefiele would be staking whatever is left of his reputation on a policy that is more political than economic. We should not make a law that will negatively impact the lives of over two hundred million people, not to talk of the struggling economy, just to make life uncomfortable for a handful of powerful politicians. We should not promote economic hiccups and inconveniences for many just to catch a few. It reminds one of the military mindset that promulgated a foreign exchange decree in the past virtually because of one man. Nigerians should have outgrown such unwholesome and petty minded laws. This cash withdrawal policy needs more time. It needs more groundwork. It needs more explanation. The promoters should be wary of unintended consequences.

•Muyiwa Adetiba is a veteran journalist and publisher. He can be reached via titbits2012@yahoo.com

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