If, today, Nigerians are celebrating Christmas, they are doing so because they have chosen to be happy in spite of the machinations of the political class. It is Christmas and Nigerians, in their accustomed resilient (locally rendered as ‘never-say-die’) spirit, are making merry in whatever way they can, betrayed by those they elected to lead them but trusting in the mercies of a Sovereign God. Christ, the centre of today’s celebrations around the globe, epitomized sacrifice par excellence, teaching that no greater love trumps dying for the people we love. He scoffed at carnal vanities, covered incredible mileage on foot, healed the sick and raised the dead, and comforted the poor in heart and spirit, teaching that the greatest commandments hinged on loving God and fellow human beings. He did not teach the primitive accumulation of wealth and self-aggrandizement by which that today’s leaders are uniquely known: he taught self-abatement, temperance, compassion and kindness, virtues which are manifestly self-evident in Nigerian leaders’ criminal withdrawal of cash from the economy while the masses literally scrounge and starve, a metaphor for an abundantly blessed but criminally managed country striving hard to retain its status of the world’s poverty capital.

Despite the withdrawal limits on cash enforced by most commercial banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently said that N3.4 trillion in cash was in circulation in the country. The CBN’s acting director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi-Ali, said this in a statement she issued in Abuja on Wednesday, December 13. Her words: “There is indeed an increase in currency in circulation. From N1 trillion in February 2023, we have seen a rise to over N3.4 trillion as of December 11, 2023. This demonstrates that enough cash is available, but unfortunately, it’s not circulating due to apprehension among some individuals. We empathise with the recent and past experiences of Nigerians. The CBN assures everyone that we have adequate cash to meet daily transaction needs, even during the upcoming festive season.”

Linking the current cash crunch to the hoarding of cash by some persons following the challenges experienced during the naira redesign policy earlier in the year, Sidi-Ali claimed that the apex bank was monitoring the situation and had released sufficient cash to its branches nationwide for onward distribution to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs). However, today, the cash crunch has persisted, and a populace hard done by its leaders is struggling to obtain the little cash it can muster as the prizes of goods and services literally hit the roof. For context, a bag of rice costs around N60,000 but the minimum wage remains N30,000 until the government which removed subsidy on fuel on May 29 decides that the people have suffered hard and long enough.

We are tired of the endless excuses, including those about people making huge withdrawals. Pray, who are the people making the withdrawals? Is it the same masses who cannot boast of N20,000? Besides, if some market (wo)men have chosen to keep their cash because of their horrible experiences withdrawing their own money, that is a challenge for the government to address. Despite the CBN’s circular in the aftermath of the cash crunch allowing private individuals to withdraw as much as N200,000 per day, some banks have limited customers to only N20,000 per day ever since, flouting the law with impunity. The CBN should really be ashamed that Nigerians are yet again enduring a cash crunch in the face of dwindling economic survival for no reason at all. How is it justifiable that citizens are unable to obtain cash to transact simple businesses when the country is not at war or experiencing emergencies? What is this hoopla about people hoarding the naira and how can that be the case if there is nothing to be gained from hoarding it?

If the economic situation makes gains from hoarding the naira possible, is that not in itself a reflection of failure on the part of those managing the economy? Is it not the responsibility of the government and the CBN to prevent and punish hoarding of the naira if it is against the interest of the country? The resort to excuses does not offer any relief to Nigerians and it should be clear to the government that in the final analysis, there is a limit to the human capacity to endure suffering. Those in government have no business being there if all they will give are excuses instead of working to prevent avoidable suffering by Nigerians. We hope that the current cash crunch will be speedily addressed to ensure that no Nigerian is further burdened in turning his/her holdings and deposits into cash for use at any time. It is the minimum that the government should do for a populace long suppressed.

We wish our readers merry Christmas and a happy new year. We hope that the next Christmas will be much more tolerable than this one. We really hope so.

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