Emmanuel Oluwadola
Students in tertiary institutions across the country have decried the hardships resulting from the Central Bank of Nigeria deadline for the deposit of old naira notes. It is a battle of survival, hunger inevitable as it impacts their daily lives.
Abdulrasheed Hammad, a 400-level student of Law at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) uncovered the unpleasant experience of students at the bank. He narrated how he met a student who had not eaten for 3 days because he wasn’t able to withdraw from the bank.
“Some bank securities around here collect money from those operating POS and allow them to withdraw while they leave students outside in the scorching sun and not allow them to withdraw. Some students have exams and they queue from morning till afternoon.
“I met a student who lamented how he has not eaten for 3 days because he was unable to withdraw the new naira notes and the old naira with him, they are not collecting it. It’s our examination period. How do you expect someone who has not eaten since morning to read?”
“I entered the bank and they said they are not giving out money. Also, I wanted to buy something to eat from a local shop, but they rejected my money because I was holding the old naira. This does not only hurt students’ psychology but also their academics and their performance in examinations,” he disclosed.
CBN Extension, What’s Students’ Hope?
The Central Bank of Nigeria released the redesigned new naira notes for wide circulation across the country from December 15, 2022, to January 31, 2023, which was to invalidate the old currency as a legal tender.
Nigerians were expected to have deposited the old currency before the earlier deadline, but because of the outcry of the citizens, the deadline was recently extended by 10 days. According to the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, “Based on the foregoing, we have sought and obtained Mr. President’s approval for a 10-day extension of the deadline from January 31, 2023, to February 10, 2023.”
Likewise, it was during their examination period, Akintulubo Precious from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State said students result in borrowing money.
In her statement, “As a student, you won’t want to withdraw all your money at once to avoid lavish spending. But what happens when most banks are not even having the money all at? It was our examination period, we were unable to withdraw and this made things difficult so we had to start borrowing money from one another.
“Is it possible to quickly eradicate the old naira notes just like that? What I am asking is that the Central Bank of Nigeria should, please, let the banks around us have these new notes. Some banks are still loading their ATM with the old notes which are supposed not to be so,” she pleaded.
A Mass Communication student, Adebayo Similoluwa at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) expressed her dissatisfaction, stating: “It has not been funny. The policy has not favoured us and I don’t think it’s going to favour us in a few days. Even the new naira notes have not yet circulated very well. How do you expect students, even people in rural areas, to make transactions?
“Out of almost eight (8) banks in my school, only two(2) to three(3) banks are dispensing money and there is a limit to the amount we can collect aside from the longtime queue. Imagine banks still giving out old money over the counter and due to the high demand for money, POS operators have increased their charges. It has not been easy on students at all, even everyone in general.”
Similarly, Rielle Oluwole, a 200-level Biochemistry student at Federal University Oye-Ekiti, narrated the problem of just a bank serving six(6) neighboring communities.
She noted: “In cases like this, where it is only one bank that everyone has to manage. Imagine six(6) neighboring villages sharing just one bank. It has made me minimize my spending because once the little amount I have is exhausted, getting another one might not be easy. So I tried to limit my expenses.
“Imagine having to buy money with money. Yeah! N200 for N1,000 note, POS charges as they’ll call it. Transactions have not been easy. For students in places like this where the network is not so good, you can’t rely on transfer. That has caused students to trek from school back to their various abodes when they do not have cash.”
Daniel Eniola, a student of Meteorology and Climate Science at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State complained about the rejection of old naira notes by traders. He said he was only limited to mobile money transfers for what he needed.
“The challenge I faced was that traders in the market rejected my old naira and the amount dispensed by the ATM was reduced drastically. I had all my money in the account, I had no cash. I was able to cope by doing transfers to traders whenever I wanted to buy anything.
“The extension of the deadline is good, it will give more room for people to release the old naira with them and allow the new notes to circulate the country,” he said.
For an entrepreneur like Ṣèyífúńmi Francis Adéọ̀ṣun, a 400-level Law student at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko his business was affected, he said: “No cash flow and network are extremely very bad. My business is badly affected by this new policy. As a student, it’s tough because new notes are scarce.
“The deadline is short and this policy has not just affected students alone, but has and it’s still affecting everybody. I feel the extension will help us get rid of the old naira and I hope the new notes will be available anytime soon.”
Also, Anumudu Adaeze, a Pharmacy student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) was so upset by the stress she went through at the ATM stand, she said, “The queues at the ATM were outrageous. I had to stand for hours. I was compelled to get money from a POS but I was given an old naira and that same day, I went back to deposit the money due to the deadline and denials. I had to spend the money which wasn’t part of the plan.”
“Transfers are not always the answer to every transaction one would carry out. I did a transfer to a food vendor and it didn’t go through. I had to borrow new money from a friend to pay the vendor. It’s not been easy, but the extension was a great idea.”
“Many of us were already at a disadvantage because we had no money left. Now, students will be able to get the necessary things they need beforehand,” she said.
Chika Igba, a student of Mass Communication at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (UNIZIK) said: “I was stranded, I have no cash. It was so bad that most students have already deposited their money in the bank and they don’t have cash with them. They’ve extended the deadline and most banks don’t have the new naira notes yet, it’s sad.”
She complained that it has been hard going about their daily lives. “It’s ridiculous to charge N300 for N1,000. I don’t think this extension has anything to do with the situation at all, all that we need is that the CBN should release more new naira notes into the economy.”
Adefila Ademola, a 300-level student of Accounting at the University of Lagos said if the new naira is not in circulation, it would create more problems than solutions.
“It’s ‘crazy’ out there. I’m not sorry to say that this country has failed us even as students. It has gotten to the point whereby we buy Naira with Naira when it’s not a foreign currency. Today, I withdrew N3,000 from POS at the rate of N300 per thousand amounting to N900 just for N3,000. When are we going to endure this?
“How I’ve been coping as a student is that I minimize to the extreme my expenses. For now, it’s just a matter of needs over wants (Scale of preference). The deadline can never be enough if the new naira denomination is not in circulation and that would create even more problems than solutions.”
Ajibade Adewale, a student of Linguistics and African Languages at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife (OAU) on his part stressed that the policy of the new naira notes has only spurred unnecessary hardship which could be avoided with proper planning.
He said: “It has not been easy. Before the extension of the deadline, as students, we struggled to get money from the ATM and still had a problem spending it. The money has not been well circulated, traders and drivers only have the old naira. Some of them don’t even accept transfers. Those who do, if not late alert, it’s going to be a fluctuating network.”
“Seriously, I do not foresee the new deadline having any positive impact except there are ways to ensure that there is the circulation of the new notes which by immediate circumstance seems impossible.”
Samson Isaac, a 100-level student of Mathematical Sciences, Bayero University, Kano State explained that the N1,000 new note mostly was in circulation which has led to difficult means of exchange among students and traders.
“Due to the change of naira notes and with the lack of enough cash from banks and ATMs, I have been faced with transportation issues and on getting basic things, it’s difficult getting change even if you have the new notes.”
“The problem is that the only new naira note circulating is the N1,000. The extension will help students, although it is still not enough, however, it’s better than the previous deadline. Now we would be able to leverage on the time declared and prepare well,” he noted.
Expressing the anguish of a long queue, Abisola Deborah Madu, from Babcock University, said, “After the tiring long queues, students were still not able to withdraw at the end. We survive through mobile transfers.
“The idea of the deadline doesn’t seem to change anything in my school because most shops still do not accept old naira. Students mostly use mobile transfers.”
As far as Oluwaseyifunmi Favour, a 300-level Sociology student at the University of Ibadan (UI) is concerned, the new naira notes should have been well circulated first before the deadline. She said: “I think they are supposed to largely release the new naira more in circulation. This will be the way to relieve the pain they are causing Nigerians.”
“I’m unable to buy things. I was restricted to staying in my hostel and I also trekked to my department because the cabs are not collecting transfers for transportation. The new naira notes are not available at all.”
Alademo Faith, a 400-level student of Federal University Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State cried out about the difficulty of withdrawing money and how it has delayed her several plans as a student.
“I have not been able to withdraw money to do the needful which has caused a lot of delay in what I ought to have carried out as a student, things like printing materials and so on. I’m speechless because up till now the new naira notes are yet to circulate and there is no possibility for it before the deadline,” she said.
By the extension of the deadline, Nigerian students hope to see light at the end of the tunnel as the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele has reportedly ordered that banks must accept old naira notes after the 10 February deadline.
