Nigeria Currency Palava -By Adebomehin Adenike Abosede

Money, a means of exchange, is one of the necessity of life. The role it plays in the development of a country or nation can not be over looked. Every country in the world has it own money (currency as it is popularly called).  Dollars, Pounds,Euros,e.t.c are examples of currencies, that enhance transactions.They can also be called “Paper money” and they have been in existence for over a decade.They have been used to acknowledge important transactions like businesses and other personal use.

The Nigeria currency has evolved overtime from Kobo to Naira, which is the monetary unit of Nigeria till today. The name “Naira” was coined from the word “Nigeria” by Obafemi Awolowo. However, Naira as a currency was launched by Shehu Shagari, Minister of Finance on January 1, 1973.In April, 1984, the colours of all the banknotes in circulation were changed with the exception of the 50 Kobo banknote to arrest the currency trafficking prevalent at the time.It was rumoured that the CBN would introduce a higher denomination of money I.e 5,000 naira note. However, Ahmed Umar, CBN’s Director of the Currency Operations, announced that the 1,000 Naira will remain the highest denomination for the foreseeable future.

History has found a way of repeating itself by  replacing the old naira note which has been in existence for the past 50years with the so called “New naira”.The CBN, on October 26, 2022 announced that higher denominations of the Naira including N200, N500 and N1,000 would be redesigned and introduced into the economy by December 15, 2022 while commercial banks were directed to return the old naira notes to the CBN.The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the change would be done to reduce the amount of money in circulation and control inflation. The realization that Nigerians are not impressed has raised a lot of criticism from Nigerians about the New naira note.

To start with, many Nigerians are talking about the texture/quality of the new naira note compared to the old note. It is believed that the first step to identifying a genuine banknote from the counterfeit is to check the texture. Research has shown that a soft texture and dull image are indicators of a fake naira;that means one should be sensitive to the touch of the banknote when carrying out a transaction.

It is said that the old naira note is thicker compared to the new note. And this can cause easy misplacement, miscalculation, and mistreat of the money. I read a story on Facebook,where a woman said she accidentally washed the new naira note while doing laundry to her surprise,the money faded. It was also explained that it would be difficult to differentiate the original from the fake new naira notes.

Red, pink, and orange are the main colours in the new 200-Naira note, giving it a livelier look than the previous note in muted greens and browns.The blue and green colour scheme of the new 500-Naira banknote is a change from the black, gold, and dark red colours of the previous version.The new 1000-Naira note is vivid blue on the face, in contrast to the subdued green and yellow hues of the prior version. The new colours are condemned by the masses, they say it is unattractive and It looks like the United States of America currency(Dollars) especially the 500 naira note.

However, news has it that the new naira note has not been in circulation especially in the rural areas.And that most persons find it difficult to accept the new note. I watch video on Instagram late last year where a bus driver refused to accept the new 1000 naira note from a passenger. He claimed that the money was faked. The issue of banks not loading their ATM machine with the new naira note can not be overlooked. Most people have been complaining that the ATM machine is only dispensing the old note and the ones dispensing, is limited to pay just # 30,000 only. As of this morning, a report from Sango ota in ogun state made it known that not all the machine is dispensing the new note. In fact, some banks even shut down their machine as they didn’t load it with the new note. Even the people operating the point of Sale (POS) are lamenting that they cannot give out the few new notes they have because the old note might expire. Also, the stress that people go through when they visit the bank for deposit or withdrawal is alarming. The long queue at the bank presently is so frustrating that many people leave the bank out of frustration.

Finally, the question is, is the new note available? If yes why is it not in circulation? As at this morning my sister told me that she went to the market to buy some food stuff, she pays the seller and she gave her the old naira note as her balance. Then she ask why not new note, the woman replied that she hasn’t seen the new note. She said she was not surprised because the new note that was with her was given to her by her husband who works in Lagos.

In order to help Nigerians with these situations, I think the government should extend the deadline for the deposit of the old naira note, because most people in the rural areas will be affected the most as many of them still have the old naira note. The CBN should also make the new naira note available to banks. So that banks can load their ATM machine with it. That will make it easier for people to access it

Also, the government should involve the monitoring agencies to ensure that banks load their ATM machine with the new note and not the old ones. If any bank fails to cooperate,such bank should be appropriately dealth with.

Adebomehin Adenike Abosede
Department of English, Lagos State University.