Nigeria: With an aim to bring down corruption and inflation in the country, Nigeria implemented the plan of demonetisation but to no avail. The scarcity of new naira notes has brought in a deep financial crisis in Nigeria.
As per an Indian Express report, brawls at banks and long ATM queues have crippled the country exposing the poor implementation of the huge decision on the part of the Nigerian govt. The last date to exchange the old currency was Friday. 1,000, 500 and 200 naira banknotes have been demonetised.
Reports suggest that the country is largely dependent of cash meaning, cash is 'King' in Nigeria. Citizens are reportedly falling short of buying daily necessities and are unable to feed their families due to the impact of this decision by its government.
Business closures and other hardships
The Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the redesigned notes and new limits on large cash withdrawals to help recover about 85 per cent of the total currency in circulation outside the banking system. It said this would also help curb money laundering and make digital payments the norm in Africa's biggest economy, that's currently largely driven by cash transactions.
But the push to replace the old banknotes with new ones has left very limited cash in circulation, causing frustration and anger for many people who spend hours at the banks attempting to withdraw their money.
The cash shortage, financial analysts say, has affected some critical sectors of Nigeria's economy, has caused "significant hardship in both rural and urban areas" and has led to many business closures.
(with inputs from agencies)
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
