As at the time of writing this content, the only trending news every Nigerians broadcast is the change in currency design.
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However I witnessed the pain when I withdrew some amount of money in order to purchase what I will eat at noon on Sunday 29/01/2023. The first food vendor I approached rejected the money because it was the former currency. Then I had no idea the implementation is close since it was two days remaining to the deadline.
Not quite long, there was a circular for the extension of the deadline and due to this I was really upset and choose to get some raw food stuff at home to cook instead. The reason for my annoyance was that, I have my money I worked for but you trying to detect for me when I can use it. If the money were to be available in banks for collection I wouldn’t even smear to be upset because I can take the cab, head straight to the bank and withdraw.
Honestly this is one of the reasons why crypto should be adopted and regulated because no one will force you to get your asset to the new design, if there is a need, you will only have to update your application and the graphical user interface change is implemented along as well.
But in the case of fiat, reverse is the case.
I really felt bad when I saw people struggling at ATM point just to withdraw the new naira, elderly men were seen dragging position to withdraw their own money.
Now I want to ask, could the CBN make plans to redesign the naira and they didn’t make plans for availability in circulation world wide? What’s the assurance that the whole 36 states in Nigeria has in circulation 80% of the new notes?
It doesn’t sound logical to struggle to withdraw your own money you worked for not a free one. In my next subtitle, I will talk about effects of sudden struggle to obtain the new naira note.
Effects of struggle to obtain the new naira note
The CBN can achieve its monetary policy by ensuring everything goes as planned. However, the following are bound to occur if no further extension of the deadline.
Stampede is a risky situation that involves crowd of people trying to obtain a particular thing by all means possible.
Why I mentioned this point is that before now barely all ATM points in every bank dispense the new naira, out of 10 points, one may dispense, and due to fear, when people who has received the news that a particular ATM spot dispenses new notes, it doesn’t take long before such place gets overcrowded because everyone want to have new notes before the deadline because there aren’t enough in circulation.
The fight to change old notes to new one is carried out by all citizens, the lame, blind, asthmatic and non-asthmatic. Now tell me if it were to be a crowd with asthmatic individuals what’s will be their hope of coming back home alive in the stampede?
This is why we must be open to welcome cryptocurrency as a form of finance as issues of such can never happen. If we all continue this way, what will be the hope of living for our children if we don’t all key into block chain technology now so as not to be affected.
Thanks for reading, do have a lovely day.