By Emmanuel Daudu
Nigerians have been going through scorching times which is contrary to the ritual when general elections draw closer.
The policy of swapping some Naira notes for new ones was considered germane when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the policy in late 2022. The policy which was hailed as coming at the right time has turned to inflict suffering and hardship on the people across the country for its apparent mismanagement by the apex and commercial banks. With the February 10 deadline for the end of the exercise, economic activities are being crippled as there is little money in circulation. Citizens at the border towns have adopted currencies of neighbouring countries for transactions as reports have it.
The United Nations Habitat Ambassador to Nigeria, and International Activist, Dr. Raymond Edoh speaking with a cluster of journalists on Thursday urged Nigerians with a biased interest in youths to remain calm and watch patiently as things would unfold for good.
While speaking, the International Activist, Raymond emphasized that burning down facilities and infrastructures owned privately or publicly is not the best option in a crucial moment when a country like ours is at a junction of power transition.
Raymond, while speaking further, said, “Corruption “is synonymous with Nigeria now as banks hardly pay people with new notes because it’s never available but you will see it with those women selling it at parties and event halls; those currencies are not available at the banks but always available at every event halls. Why; the same things apply to the new naira notes which are not available to the common man but are always available at parties.
“With the ongoing swapping of the old Naira notes with the new notes, the rush to beat the CBN extended deadline of February 10, has exposed Nigerians to untold hardships.
” Inasmuch as we calm Nigerians down, we urge those at the helm of affairs to look into the suffering of Nigerians and then fashion out a possible way to soften these policies in other to ensure a leveled playing ground for everyone in the country.
“Just on Thursday, in Gwagwalada, a Nigerian youth was stabbed to death because he has been in the queue for a long and another tends to make withdrawals before him. Please, let’s calm down. No sitting president would wish for the collapse of his nation or its economy. The policies might not be favourable but you are rest assured it would be in the interest of the nation.
The Issue of Mallam El-Rufia Ahmad Nasir, the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, and the Supreme Court on naira notes swap. I would wish to say that we have suffered a lot at the hands of the Supreme Court Judges in several ways not limited jn undermining any efforts of credible elections in Nigeria.
” Supreme Court voided card readers which aided and increased official election rigging. Supreme Court declared a man who came 4th in an election as a governor of a state and that alone in itself helped destroy the state.
“The same Supreme Court declared 2 men who never participated in senatorial elections as party candidates and Nigerians are still trying to recover from that shock as the credibility of primary elections has been watered down.
” And today again, the same Supreme Court without jurisdiction in a matter that is not a dispute between the States and federal government. If we understand this very well, the 1999 Constitution as amended has the right and original jurisdiction to entertain matters between the States and Federal Government when it is to the issue of constitutional interpretation. Today, the Nigeria currency redesign policy is a policy by CBN with the backing of Buhari. Now, where is the dispute that should be determined by the court? None, no basis.
“I want to call on all Nigerians to shone Supreme Court judgment on the naira swap deadline, and the likes of Elrufia Nasiru. We the youths shouldn’t allow politicians to frustrate the efforts of the federal government.
“Elections must hold and we the youths must support the federal government to make it hold by all means”.
Reacting to fuel scarcity, “We will stop at nothing until the right thing is done. The scarcity of fuel is evil. Until the right people are in power, we might be rolling from one problem to the other.
” Elections are close and so, you must make sure the right people are voted in”, Raymond Edoh
And the international activist assures all Nigerians that peace must be maintained in the coming elections and afterward.
“I wanna also use this medium to charge parents to speak to their young ones to stay calm and maintain law and order because this is the only country we can call our own.
“Also wanna assure the government and especially INEC that we will continue to preach peace in order to maintain a credible 2023 election.
“To the corrupt politicians.
We are here patiently waiting to see your evil tricks that have brought our nation to the evils we suffer today.
“To the electorate, we have never been this powerful and a high knowledge of the electoral process since democracy and we must utilize this power and opportunities in our hands to vote against all the evil politicians who will not do our nation a favor”, he added.
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