Islamic cleric, Ahmed Gumi, has criticized the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to redesign some Naira notes, claiming that anything that worsens the country’s cash shortage will be disastrous.
As previously reported by AM Business, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced on Wednesday that the top bank will begin issuing redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes on December 15, 2022.
Worried folks have been responding to the development and expressing their belief that it will cause more harm than good.
Gumi, who shared his opinion in a statement, stated on his Facebook page on Saturday morning that 80% of Nigerians, particularly those in rural regions, rely on cash transactions.
A quick shift to a cashless or cash-strapped society, Gumi feared, would lead to “pauperizing them in a spate of a short time that could trigger – God Knows- an unprecedented socio-economic turmoil in this semi-skilled or unskilled population”.
In response to claims that CBN’s action will weaken terrorists and lower kidnapping, Gumi stated that “kidnapping can only be stopped by robust policing, social justice for all, and equitable wealth distribution, stressing that any cosmetic measures will not stop it”.
The statement read in part, “People that sell goods will tell you that most Nigerians don’t have the money to buy things; therefore most poultry traders are running at a loss and are already folding up.
“Many good ideas are marred by wrong timing. This is likely to be another one. No matter how ingenious the hatchers may romanticize; the benefit will remain phantom since the reality on the ground is incongruous and it spells doom for the escapade”.