Currency Crisis Exacerbates Nigeria’s Poverty, Insecurity, and Vote-Buying Records – Group
A civil society organisation, Journalists for Open Government and Inclusion (JOGI), called on President Muhammadu Buhari to act as a true statesman and comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling on currency swap policy.
The group warned that the growing anger in the land over the scarcity of currency could turn into civil unrest unless the government acts responsibly.
It is deeply regrettable that a government still battling poverty and insecurity may allow the nation to descend into chaos due to needless, irresponsible and ill-considered policy, JOGI Executive Director Jacob Bubola said in a press release.
The group urged the president to direct the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to respect the Supreme Court’s ruling on the matter and allow the old and new currency to float side by side in the open market.
The group claimed that with the untidy manner in which President Buhari is handling the sensitive matter, it is now very clear that Buhari is in fact pursuing a hidden agenda at the expense of the nation’s welfare.
“In case Mr. President is not aware, the worst form of corruption is disobeying court orders. Again, any government that initiates a policy without a plan and proper implementation strategy also indulges in corruption.
“As we speak, most of the country’s banks are closed due to fear of being attacked by the angry population, and President Buhari still finds fit to issue insane directives.”
The group warned that the Buhari administration could end up like the repugnant regime of former military president Ibrahim Badamusi Babangida, which annulled the freest and fairest presidential election in Nigeria’s history.
It is also clear that Buhari and his voodoo economic advisors are working in collaboration with anti-democratic elements in the country to carve out the presidential elections.
“How on earth can a government deny people access to their legitimate earnings and expect them not to be subject to vote trading during an election? When you impoverish people, you make them vulnerable to all forms of abuse. This is sheer madness!
Today, the only thing Nigerians and the world really remember about the eight-year IBB regime is the annulment of the June 12, 1993 general election.
“With the disorganized manner in which the Central Bank of Nigeria proceeds in carrying out its naïve policy, the level of vote turnover in the general elections would be unimaginable.
Since the aftermath of this crazy policy, many lives have been lost while a number of public infrastructures, including commercial banks, have been destroyed. Angry Nigerians are beginning to regroup with the aim of unleashing massive civil unrest, and a government supposedly planning peaceful and credible elections for Nigerians does not see the handwriting on the wall.
“The fact of the matter is that CBN under Emefiele is blatantly unqualified to undertake any honest economic reform or fight corruption because it is itself a harbinger of corruption.
If we may ask, how did new banknotes find their way to peddlers, even when they were no longer available in banks? It’s simple logic Emifile who couldn’t stop his men from corruption and sharp practices can’t lead any real war against corruption in Nigeria.” Enough of this madness.
As a group committed to good and open governance, we want to use this medium to warn Nigerians to remain calm, even in the face of this blatant provocation from the sitting President. We must not play into the hands of anti-democratic forces. May Nigeria succeed.
Currency Crisis Exacerbates Nigeria’s Poverty, Insecurity, and Vote-Buying Records – Group
