By Christian Njoku
Prof. Uchechi Ogbuagu of Economics Department, University of Calabar, says the Federal Government’s decision to recirculate the old N200 notes is a palliative to ease the sufferings of Nigerians.
Ogbuagu made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN), on Monday in Calabar.
He was reacting to President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast on Feb. 16, where he approved the recirculation of the old N200 notes for 60 days.
According to the professor, bringing back the old N200 notes to circulation was the president’s way of telling Nigerians that he had heard their cries.
He said the decision was a palliative measure and would not improve businesses much or totally extinguish the sufferings which Nigerians have gone through in the last few weeks.
“What the president has done is just to say, I did something, I did not become silent or deaf to your cries but recirculating the old N200 notes will not do much for anybody.
“Even if all the N200 notes are returned to circulation, I don’t think it will be enough to assuage the needs and sufferings of the people.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) is trying to reduce the amount of money in circulation and controlling spending following conventional economics but it should also consider the pains and hardship Nigerians are going through,” he said.
He said some people were of the school of thought that the whole process was political, meant to attack some individuals, adding that his concern was the small business owners who fed and did business with little cash they had.
Ogbuagu said that politically, the whole redesigning of the naira and cash crunch looked unwise from any government, adding that it only made the government unpopular following people’s suffering.
“The poor Nigerians are not the once that stockpile naira notes in their houses but are the once suffering more due to this policy; if this policy must be done it should be given a longer time even more than a year.
“The truth is that there is no way Nigerians can cope under the present situation other than to concentrate on their basic needs to keep body and soul together,” he asserted. (NAN)
