16th April, 2014
In Nigeria, hawking of new naira notes along major roads and at parties is becoming a common phenomenon. It is considered a fast means to make money from guests at parties and other ceremonies where the new notes are in high demand. The practice is fast assuming a wider dimension as nothing is being done by the regulatory authorities to discourage it.
While some bank officials have been accused of accepting bribes from the hawkers in exchange for the new notes, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has taken the illegal sales of the new notes with kid gloves.
Two months ago, the House of Representatives kicked against the hawking of the new naira notes along major roads in the country. The action was necessitated by the difficulty in getting new notes from both the CBN and other commercial banks. The house submitted that CBN should periodically replace old and disfigured naira notes with new notes and also investigate its internal staff over the alleged bribes for new notes. Despite this appeal, the practice persists.
Most naira notes in circulation are usually dirty and in bad shape. The situation is also compounded by the scarcity of lower denominations of the naira notes, especially N5, N10, N20, N50 and N100 notes. It is really mind-boggling that getting new notes from banks requires extra effort or engaging in bribery or giving tips to bank officials. Those who need new notes are therefore at the mercy of the new notes hawkers who charge interest in exchange for the new notes. It has also encouraged the circulation of fake notes in some instances.
It is therefore pertinent for the CBN to enlighten the public about the danger in patronising the roadside hawkers of the new notes and compel banks to make new notes available on demand to its customers rather than allowing them to get the notes through the backdoor.
CBN and commercial banks should also monitor their staff who collaborate with the new note hawkers. The fight against this roadside trade is a collective one.The Nigerian Police and State Security Service should investigate, arrest and prosecute any bank official or any person involved in the act. Section 21 (4) of the CBN Act 2007 stipulates punishment for anyone found hawking, selling or trading in naira notes, coins or any note issued by the CBN. This should be enforced.