By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko, Ibadan
The Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Oyo, Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, has called on the Federal Government not to allow Naira notes redesign to cause more hardship for the masses.
Badejo made the call in a statement titled 'Pervasive Hardship in Nigeria: governance and policies must have a human face', on Saturday in Ibadan.
He said that governance and policies must have a human face.
The cleric said that scarcity of the new Naira notes would inflict more suffering on Nigerians.
According to him, many citizens are depositing their old Naira notes without any guarantee of getting the new notes.
Badejo said that Central Bank of Nigeria’s insistence on Jan. 31 deadline for turning in old notes would only be justifiable if it had done everything necessary to make new notes available to the largest percentage of Nigerians 100 days ago.
He says a policy which sucks up the hard-earned old currency notes which majority of the people depend on, with little guarantee of getting new currency notes to them to spend is tantamount to squeezing life out of millions.
"Why then should the general public suffer for the institution’s failure? The reported appeal to subsidiary banks by the Central Bank to collect and disburse the redesigned notes when it should have made them do it is simply laughable and indicative of the nature of governance in Nigeria.
"The story is even more dire in large swathes of the country where there is no banking service whatsoever within kilometres. Are those living there not Nigerians too?
"The whole scenario is of course complicated by the paralysing fuel scarcity which has now raised the price of petrol to N400 or more in some places, now President Buhari has raised committee of a task force to make petrol available.
"This typically Nigerian style of throwing stones at a charging lion is hardly surprising, what about those whose job it was to make petrol available in the first place?
"Now we have a committee that will spend more money to redress our already monumental loss of money," he said.
According to the Bishop, the presidency's declaration that 100 day-period was more than sufficient for the public to change the old currencies to new ones could not be obtainable.
"All these are coming on top of skyrocketing price of goods and services sending the anger and frustration of the struggling masses through the roof with the 2023 general elections only weeks away.
"How then will the elections be free and fair? Is there a sinister plan hidden somewhere behind all this?
The Nigerian government and its officials must react quickly to the current hard times to avoid public revolt and chaos.
"A hungry man, they say is an angry, destructive man and a hungry woman is even worse. If the monetary policy is hurting the same people which it is intended to serve, why can’t some modification be made to its timing and execution, cf. the BVN, NIN policies?," he said.
Badejo emphases that government policies and action must ideally serve the citizenry.
He adds that in a democracy, government policies and actions, no matter how good they are, should be targeted at making life more liveable for the people.
"This is true simply because government officials and public servants are mere custodians of the power which belongs to the people.
"Therefore, in executing even the best and most urgent policies, the people’s interest, not party ego or selfish plans must be at the centre of honest governance.
"Government and public officials in a democracy are public servants, not slave drivers. That is what it means for governance to have a human face," Badejo said. (NAN)
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