By Cecilia Ijuo
Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have used the occasion of Easter to thank God for surviving the cash crunch caused by the Naira redesign policy.
The residents in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, said they were grateful to God for being alive to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
They said the period between January and March was excrutiating due to the Naira scarcity.
Mrs Elizabeth Joseph, a businesswoman and mother of four, said it was a “testimony” that her family survived the period.
“My husband and I are business persons and I can say we are fairly comfortable.
“However, the Naira scarcity wrecked us to the point that it was difficult to afford three square meals not because we did not have money.
“We could not access money for a lot of things and we had to ration our food,” she said.
Mr Godswill Adah, a public servant, said the level of hardship he went through within the period was unimaginable.
He said he almost lost his aged mother who was ill within the period because of Naira scarcity.
Adah also said it was difficult for him to go to work because he “could not get cash for transport fare”
He said although, Nigerians were still going through some level of challenges to access cash, the situation was better than January and March.
“I turned to begging to be able to get as little as N500 to pay for fare to get to the office.
“Thank God for the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to push the old notes back into circulation.
“I can imagine what would have become of us today if that decision was not taken.”
Mrs Eucharia Njoku, a retiree, said government should put measures in place to prevent a repeat of the hardship at the expiration of Dec. 31 deadline for use of old notes.
“I am hypertensive and it was not funny at all.
“It is not that I did not have money but I could not access my money.
“My Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card got expired and I could not queue to get cash because of the stress,” she said.
NAN reports that Easter, also called Resurrection Sunday, commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
It is preceeded by 40 days of fasting and prayer, which commences on Ash Wednesday.
Within the period, people, particularly Christian faithful engage in fasting and prayer, alms giving, penance and abstinence.
Important activities leading to Easter are, commemoration of the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem and the passion of Christ, which is observed on Good Friday, among others.
Besides the spiritual benefits, people often use the period of Easter to bond with family and friends as well as exchange gifts. (NAN)
