I did not see the new naira note until Dec 22, 2022.

I did not see the new naira note until Dec 22, 2022.

By the end of January, everybody has become nairaless but a few were still boasting and saying that it’s good for the system. 😝 

On January 29, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the candidate of the ruling party was in Abeokuta as part of his nationwide campaign where he spoke against the hardship being faced by Nigerians as a result of the cash crunch especially and the sudden fuel scarcity. He however concluded that ‘if they like, let them hoard money and fuel, we shall vote and we shall win.’

By February 1, it has assumed full crisis. Banks were set on fire by very hungry and angry Nigerians.

On February 4, the President asked for 7 days to resolve the crisis.

On February 6, the Governors of Kaduna, Zamfara and Kogi state took the federal government to court.

On February 10, the Supreme Court issued an injunction ordering the full circulation of the old note alongside the new note until the substantive case was heard on February 15.

But the CBN Governor told us that the old N500 and N1,000 notes have been destroyed and that the Mint has enough paper to print enough new notes.

On February 15, the Supreme Court has had some other states joining in the suit against the wicked policy and states like Edo and Bayelsa asking that the policy should stay and February 10 deadline must not be extended. PDP,?apart from, Tambuwal saw a golden opportunity to win the election as a result of the hardship by APC government and in all honesty, they can not be blamed. The Supreme Court’s initial injunction was not nullified by it so we should spend both the old and new notes.

But at 7am on February 16, the President addressed the nation overruling the interim ruling of the country’s apex court and ordering that only the old N200 alongside the all new notes should remain in circulation.

That broadcast was the worst violation of the rule of law and abuse of power I have witnessed all my life but some ‘democrats’ saw nothing wrong with it.

That broadcast endeared my beloved President to his haters, those who should be close to me but hate and despise me and wish me evil every day, those who never wished him well since 2015 that he defeated Jonathan and said that he was dead. I was hurt but I tried not to over react.

They said that he wanted to leave a legacy of free, fair, credible election with no vote buying. It was the most ridiculous defense from a people whose businesses were dying and who could not even eat a meal a day due to scarcity of cash and paralysed electronic payment system.

It was 10 days to the presidential election and so the Supreme Court which must never be seen to be partisan adjourned the case to March 3. It said that it can not be used as scapegoat.

Oh, the joy of the hungry opposition hit the roof. They prayed for the SC Judges and the President. They mocked Tinubu, el-Rufai, Matawalle, Bello and everyone who wanted the Court to put an end to their sufferings, our sufferings and affliction.

The election came and Tinubu won without buying vote. He won a free, fair and credible election but the sufferings continued. 😝 

On March 3, 7 judges of the Supreme Court that ruled said that the Court has jurisdiction to hear any case between state(s) and the federal government. They ruled that the CBN was an agency of the federal government so arguing that it wasn’t joined in the suit was not an excuse. They all ruled that the policy was supposed to be an outcome of a well discussed and broad based deliberations by every party that should be involved and not a side talk between the CBN Governor and the President.

El-Rufai called it 7-0 long before the Liverpool/Man United game.

They unanimously ordered that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 must be circulated along side the new notes. They frowned at the President’s disrespect to their earlier injunction and reminded him that ours in a democracy and so the rule of law must be respected at all times.

They said that the CBN Governor risked being arrested if he does not make cash available to Nigerians. They also ruled that the CBN has no right to put a limit on the amount an account holder can withdraw.

But for 11 days, we still did not see changes and we kept speaking until the morning of March 13 when the Nation Newspaper came up with a story that Emefiole has given N500m to the IhPOB candidate in Lagos, Gbarebo. He hasn’t sued the Nation till date because it was true.

The CBN immediately released a statement that it was false. That’s the same CBN that had not issued any statement on the Supreme Court ruling since March 3.

In the evening, the Presidency released a statement that the CBN should not have waited for any directive from the President before it obeys the Supreme Court. So the all powerful Emefiole became an orphan all of a sudden and so a few hours after the Presidency had left him in the cold, he issued a statement that the old notes are still legal tender.

He said that banks would open at weekend to pay customers and they did.

But the old notes that have been destroyed is what we spend now. No new notes till now. 

It is therefore clear that we suffered for no economic reason but for politics, just because they wanted somebody to lose an election. People died and many businesses collapsed but God still wear him the crown.

Ire oooo