No cash, no garri: Naira crisis punishes Nigerians more, CBN silent

Nigerians are paying dearly for the government’s mishandling of its currency replacement policy, with citizens increasingly losing the ability to buy food.

In several parts of Abuja, traders have in recent days turned down sales without cash, rejecting bank transfers and debit card payments, leaving residents stranded.

Buyers say they have been unable to purchase food items because they had no cash. In the federal capital, one of the most affected items is garri, a staple made from cassava, and one of Nigeria’s most popular foods.

Traders at Dutse, Mararaba, Kubwa, Zuba and Wuse markets confirmed to Pluboard they could no longer sell except customers pay with naira notes. They said it was almost impossible to get supplies from local farmers who do not have bank accounts and cannot receive digital payments. They also blamed payment systems that make transfers fail.

“It has affected my business and I can’t buy from the villages I normally buy from,” Ogbonna, a trader at the Orange market in Mararaba, said. He said traders were not directed by their union to take the decision.

Esther Orji and Wunmi Ade who sell garri at Wuse market said they have been unable to buy the product because their local suppliers demand cash.

Failed replacement

The shortage of notes started with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s bungled attempt to replace higher naira bills. In an economy heavily dependent on cash, it has caused devastating hardship for months, leaving citizens unable to buy basics.

Nigerians had until Feb. 10 to turn in old notes for replacements, but low supply of the new notes meant commercial banks rationed the few available. The government has not responded since the Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling directing the central bank to allow the use of both the old and new notes till December.

Many fear things may get worse with the postponement of the governorship elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission. A spokesperson for the CBN, Abdul Isa, did not respond to a call on Friday seeking comments.

“It is important to state that the seeming calmness around banks and financial institution and the nation in general as a result the current cash crunch may be short lived after the guber poll if something is not done to address the issue,” Afolabi Olowookere, chief economist and managing director at the Ibadan-based policy analysis firm, Analysts Data Services and Resources Ltd (ADSR), told Pluboard.

“This is because the actors are currently engaged by the politicians going into the elections and attention is focused on winning the elections.  However, after the election, there is every likelihood that the losers would release their foot soldiers to resume the crisis and attribute it to the cash crunch.”

Higher prices

Chimeze Oke, a member of Garri Sellers’ union in Kubwa, said garri traders have been particularly hit because they get stocks from the villages where many farmers either do not own bank accounts or find it difficult to access banks.

“Initially, before this cash scarcity started, we used to collect transfers from our customers and then make a transfer to our people down in the village to buy this garri for us because most of us don’t travel,” he said.

“But presently, these people can’t even have access to banks to withdraw this money, therefore prompting us to travel by ourselves, that’s if we can get the cash.”

That has forced farmers to produce less garri, sending prices skyward. In Abuja, a container of garri that usually sells for N500 now sells for N700, according to marketers and buyers. Mr Oke said 50kg of yellow garri that sold at N13,000 before the scarcity now sells at N22,000.

The price surge has been made worse by the chronic fuel shortage across the country.

Talatu Danjuma, a tomato seller at the Bwari market, said the commodity price had risen quickly, with a basket now selling for N16,000 as against N5000 and N6000, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

A bottle of palm oil previously selling for N100 now costs N1200. A cup of melon (egusi) now costs N400 instead of N300, and a crate of eggs is now N2,500 instead of N2,200.