Currency abuse: Hard nut to crack for CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria)

C URRENCY abuse in Nigeria is still a hard nut for the Central Bank of Nigeria, in spite of the fact that the CBN Act 2007 clearly identified it as a punishable offence.

Sections 20 and 21 of the Act, which was amended in line with the new developments in the financial sector, said, “In order to stem the abuse that the naira is constantly subjected to; increase the active life of naira notes and coins; and promote confidence in their usage as medium of exchange, refusal to accept the naira; trading in naira notes and coins, spraying of the naira; and all such abuses have been criminalized and appropriate sanctions imposed.” Damaging the currency in the various ways stated, and more, according to the CBN, is punishable with six months imprisonment, or a fine of N50, 000.
While some Nigerians feel that the apex bank is only playing its part in a national comedy, others say that it is an infringement on their rights as citizens of the country.

Those in the former category are of the opinion that apart from folding the naira roughly and tucking it into hidden areas, which can be corrected, other forms of abuse outlined by the CBN, has become part of the Nigerian culture.

It will be a Herculean task to get Nigerians detached from the culture of spraying money at parties because that is the real fun involved in it, they say.

In fact, many people confidently throw ‘talk-of-the-town’ parties, even when their incomes do not support this because they know they will recover much of it, if not all, at the venue when they are sprayed with different denominations of the naira.

And in spite of claims of high poverty level in the country, the poorest of Nigerians will not let go of this habit, even if he has to go on an empty stomach for weeks after that.

This seems to give weight to the arguments of those who insist that Nigerians are not poor, but cannot just get their priorities right.

A university lecturer who talked on the condition of anonymity said, “I think it is just one of the ways poor Nigerians ‘offload tension’ in a country where one has to sweat to get everything done. If all the money I have for the weekend is N10,000, and a friend is throwing a party, I don’t mind changing N8,000 into crisp notes and having the fun of my life at that party.

“Even if I have to go hungry the next day, I would have made myself happy. It is one of the ways Nigerians avoid high blood pressure. Let the government get the economy rolling first. That is when they can talk about flimsy things like the abuse of the naira.” According to Dr. Rele Badmus, a marketing consultant and motivational speaker, it will really take a lot to prevent people from abusing the naira, especially by spraying it.

She added, “It has become part of living.

For instance, I have been tagged a miser.

And this is because I refuse to spray at parties, not because of the law, but because I don’t just believe in such.
“Nigerians have even taken the habit beyond the shores of the country by spraying hard currencies in parties abroad.
While some whites look at those who do so as insane, others try to emulate their friends by attempting the act.
The law may not also go down well with musicians, who entertain guests at functions.
If the law holds, they will have to make do with only their professional charges, when in fact, most of them depend more on what they get on the dancing floor.
It is said that some musicians even demand to have a list of those to attend a function before they seal the deal.

God help the celebrant if they check through the list and find nonentities who can hardly feed themselves much more, spray generously.

Those who say that it is an infringement on their rights argue that they can choose to do whatever they wish with their hard earned money.

But the Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Mr. Ignatius Imala, discards this as not reasonable, saying that hard earned money cannot be spent anyhow.

Responding to questions at the end of the Bankers’ Committee meeting on Friday, he said, “It is all part of the campaigns against wrong dealings, just like in the case of money laundering. It is not an infringement on anyone’s rights. In fact, it is the other way round because this act affects the economy. If you want to give someone money, issue a cheque or put it in an envelope.” However, the negative economic effects of currency abuse far outweigh cultural or selfish considerations.

Apart from the huge costs of replacing mutilated notes, and the artificial scarcity created by those who hawk crisp notes, spraying lavishly at parties lures people to crime.

Imala noted that the naira had been so abused that it had become the carpet on which people walked, saying Nigerians had better detached themselves from a bad culture or face the music.

He noted some people argued that there could be ‘decent spraying’ that should not attract a penalty.
He said, “What can be decent about spraying? What are you trying to show? Are you spraying money because you think you have a lot of it and, therefore, the only way to handle it is to spray it and not put it in an envelope?

“In fact, I think that it is only the person who does not have so much that will be spraying to attract attention and get people to believe that he has arrived. The person who has plenty of it will not do that. How much will he spend?” However, despite the seriousness of the CBN on this issue, and the enacted law, Nigerians still see it as a comic story.

If not, it will have been in the news that an offender has been nabbed and punished accordingly, they say.

Asked how many people had been arrested since the law was made, Imala said the job of the CBN was to come out with a policy that would benefit the people and the economy at large.

“Thank God, we have gone to the extent of enacting the law. The CBN cannot come out with a policy like this, make sure that it is enacted and also enforce it. It is the duty of the law enforcement agency to enforce that. May be when you have the opportunity to interview the police, you can ask them how far,” he said.

And as the CBN director advised, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, was contacted on the phone on Saturday and asked if any arrests had been made, so far, in that respect.

His short response was, “Not to my knowledge.” So, can the CBN go far with this law? Time will tell, observers say.

Yemi Kolapo @ Punch Newspaper