CBN-induced cash scarcity negatively affected 84.51% Nigerians

According to a research firm, SBM Intelligence, 84.51% of Nigerians were negatively hit by the Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which made access to cash extremely difficult.

The CBN’s decision which came just before the general elections was seen as a means to mop up excess cash in circulation and also, stop vote buying and cripple some politicians who had stockpiled raw cash with the hopes of bribing the electorates.

This, however, went sideways as Nigerians experienced one of the most brutal economic difficulties with cash shortages reported across the country, a development which greatly affected Nigerians in the rural areas with no access to banking services.

The report by SBM Intelligence titled” Strapped: Impact of the Cash Scarcity on Individuals and Businesses,” highlighted the impacts of the Naira redesign policy and how it affected a cross-section of Nigerians.

The age bracket which drew the most replies in the report (38.03%) fell between the 40-49 age bracket while the youngest age bracket interviewed was between 18 and 29 years and comprised 15.49% of the total persons surveyed.

The report also revealed that the study interviewed 52.11% employed individuals, 36.62% entrepreneurs, traders or self-employed individuals while one respondent, representing 1.41% of those surveyed, is retired.

4.23% of the respondents represented the unemployed.

On the impact of the cash shortage, 84.51% of the respondents agreed that the Federal government's Naira redesign project created an artificial scarcity of the naira and also negatively affected them.

15.49% of the remaining respondents remained indifferent (9.86%) or stated the policy did not affect them (5.63%).

When the impact of the policy was studied across five geo-political regions (North-Central, North-West, South-East, South-South, and South-West), it was noted that 100% of respondents in the North-central region confirmed they were negatively affected by the policy.

In the North-West, 81.82% of respondents confirmed that the policy affected them negatively while roughly 18.18% were unbothered with the policy.

In the South-East, around 90% of those surveyed mentioned the policy greatly affected their lifestyle and daily activities. One major indicator was the empty transport parks as the drivers lamented that the policy had greatly reduced their daily activities and income.

SBM intelligence reported that the South-South recorded the lowest number of individuals affected by the policy although there were confirmations of network failures which hampered cash withdraws at some locations.

In the South-West, the report noted the wanton destruction of banks and also revealed that 94.74% of respondents questioned agreed that the policy affected them negatively while the rest were unaffected.