Artificial Money scarcity and Lopsided CBN Monetary Policy

Introduction

While Nigeria has gone into overdrive since last week on the prons & cons of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor suspension, a far more serious issue has been raging for months under the radar. This issue continues to unfold daily with serious consequences for the common man, ordinary families and most Nigerians who depend on collective internal markets.  For all the wisdom of Washington Consensus Finance Minister and an erstwhile ‘world renowned’ central banker, Nigerians have been imposed with deliberate shortage of Naira notes denomination below 500 Naira.  The purpose of the piece is to zoom in on the issue as it affects the common man. I unashamedly call it bias 2.0.

Money Supply Stupid

Economies grow, fall and or stagnate. Examples litter everywhere. For pundits and observers especially those resident abroad and diaspora there is a religious dependence on every text in print or word on the air regarding Nigeria. Many accept GDP and economic growth figures as gospel without bordering to break it down or even imagine that those aggregate numbers misrepresent questionable quality of life, decreased life chances, access to health services, greater opportunities and etc. They stupidly settle for assumed global ranking with no critical assessment even the malicious imposed metageographical machination which will always be beyond their correction.

Nevertheless recent money supply policy managed by both Dr Okonjo-Iweala and Mallam Sanusi has seen greater proportion of less than N500 denominations vanish from circulation.  Your first confrontation of this ugly menace emerges when you attempt to pay transportation fare or telephone charge card with N500 or N1000 and ask for change. If you are unlucky not to be reminded early of lack of change, then you’ll be lucky only to escape with verbal assault. Curiously small businesses which dominate Nigerian economic landscape are hurting for this strategic error. With limited supply and circulation of these lower-tier denominations the economy is bound to react more than any riff-raff ignorantly rant about phantom confidence drop in view of CBN governor suspension. Small talk for big fellas while common people suffer! This is the case wherever you are in Nigeria. This development is not apparent in Nigeria media; only ‘political’ party intrigues carry the headlines.

How can an economy be healthy where crucial proportions of the medium of exchange are deliberately vanished? Where does change come from for N500 deposited for N50 groundnut? Why should a village shopkeeper be bombarded with N1000s with no room for providing change to customers? The sad outcome is the blinding narrative missed by common folks, that they should be in it together.  They are on the same side as natural allies rather hardship and poverty force individuals to freeze mentally limiting their abilities to rationalise to confront the common enemy; the Abuja based power elites. The common people’s economy continues to hurt as payments and transactions remain incomplete and accumulate.

Argument More Stupid

Much as I tried to find the reason for this ill-fated outcome, the difficulty in accessing policy documents only provided room for conjecture and subterfuge by the economic elite. The laughable reason I picked up from the dustbin of time is attributed to CBN move towards creating a cashless economy. This is laughable for a number of obvious reasons. For starters while Nigeria remains promising, infrastructural development and completed investment is abysmal.  Cashless economy suggests advancement and high penetration in information and communication technologies (ICT) development.  With a penetration level of less than 50% and internet connection hovering at far lower access base with medieval bandwidth, then you wonder who developed the policy and of course was handsomely ‘settled’ for it.  It is a known fact that many banks and finance companies do not meet daily customer expectation due to massive down time resulting from poor internet network and low bandwidth.  Do you need a central banker to realise the folly?

To stimulate an economy at least there must be an awareness of real problems and identify stable reusable assets. The best ways to improve the economy is not by punishing the plebes or common people. Sadly this is the tragic lesson peddled by Washington DC and lately Brussels Consensus. Nigerians of every stripe have suffered long enough regardless of their ethnic nationality. Nigerian economy doesn’t need inflation via adoption of higher denominations rather stabilisation of lower denominations while attempting to deviate from Washington DC Consensus.  It is clear now that communists are making better capitalists a la Beijing.

I must say that while the masses groan under the weight of Federal imposition, as the common people of Nigeria gnash their shivering teeth under the rounds of elite abuse; the sad truth remains that for the said ill-fated policy, billions if not trillions of Naira have been wasted in what seem like congenital malfeasance by the same power elites.