Nigeria's cash crunch: Hunting out savings from under mattresses

In our bid of letters from African journalists, Mannir Dan Ali, erstwhile editor-in-chief of Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper, looks astatine the latest currency situation to deed Africa's most-populous federation weeks earlier elections.

Cash is king successful Nigeria - physics banking it inactive successful its infancy. In information precise fewer radical support their wealth successful banks - and it is often joked that astir enactment immoderate savings they person nether their mattresses.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), little than 20% of the section currency successful circulation is held by the banks.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele explained that of the 3.2 trillion naira ($7bn; £5.8bn) successful circulation, up to 2.7 trillion was extracurricular the vaults of commercialized banks.

This is 1 of the reasons wherefore helium made a daze announcement successful October that 3 of the country's higher denominations were going to beryllium replaced.

The main plan alteration appears to beryllium the colour of the banknotes. The 1,000 naira enactment has changed from brownish to blue; the 500 from purple to greenish and the 200 from brownish and bluish to pink.

The occupation for a state wherever things seldom spell according to plan, is that the power has to hap successful a six-week model - and aft the extremity of January the aged notes volition nary longer beryllium ineligible tender.

Midway done this window, the caller notes are similar golden particulate and it is precise hard to get clasp of them.

I person lone handled 10 of the crisp caller notes, which I managed to get clasp of erstwhile I went to a slope successful the capital, Abuja, past week.

I had tried to retreat caller notes from an ATM, but they are each inactive dispensing aged notes.

The slope teller who handed implicit to maine the 10 banknotes, worthy conscionable implicit $20, said this was the maximum anyone could get.

He adjacent asked maine to capable retired my details successful a notebook by his antagonistic - a mode to guarantee that lone genuine slope customers are getting the caller notes and not those diverting them to wealth changers who are charging a premium for the caller cash.

Even the affluent and almighty are facing problems getting clasp of them.

On the time the caller notes became ineligible tender, conscionable earlier Christmas, I overheard a elder subordinate of the ruling enactment complaining that though helium personally went to his section bank, the manager determination said helium could lone supply him with a tiny magnitude due to the fact that the banks person lone a precise constricted proviso of the caller notes.

These anecdotes underline the situation of completing the currency switch. If successful the large cities of Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano astir radical are yet to person show of the caller notes, it is inconceivable that they volition beryllium successful circulation successful capable numbers nationwide by the extremity of the month.

If the workout is to win determination is besides an urgent request to equine a publicity campaign.

Already societal media is awash with instances of marketplace women turning down the caller currency, which they see to beryllium a mediocre imitation of the aged 1 - successful summation to being fearful of being conned by fraudsters.

Not to beryllium near behind, the extortionists are said to beryllium asking for ransom successful the caller currency, ne'er caput that radical cannot get clasp it.

Many Nigerians are successful information of losing their savings altogether.

A ample fig of the 774 section governments successful Nigeria bash not person slope branches and adjacent successful the contiguous epoch of physics monetary transactions, specified services are not commonly disposable successful agrarian areas.

Of people it tends to beryllium successful agrarian areas wherever determination is the peculiar signifier of radical keeping wealth successful mattresses oregon nether their beds.

Mr Emefiele has blamed this hoarding for the currency crunch. But successful world it is not the mean Nigerian that is to blasted for the bulk of the stockpiling.

Analysts accidental this tends to go an contented earlier elections erstwhile politicians are accused of utilizing currency to bargain favours.

During the 2019 election, societal media had pictures and a video of a bullion van supposedly afloat of currency going into the residence of a elder governmental influencer.

His aides denied accusations that it was for vote-buying.

But the signifier of giving voters wealth to formed their ballot for a peculiar campaigner is not uncommon here.

The currency alteration whitethorn beryllium well-intentioned, to level the governmental playing tract earlier the 25 February vote, yet the timing of it each is causing concern.

The legislature has asked for the switchover play to beryllium extended but the CBN is sticking to its guns.

To marque matters worse, Governor Emefiele has disappeared. He has been retired of the state for weeks, facing assorted accusations of mismanagement, which immoderate reason whitethorn beryllium politically motivated.

Nonetheless it means the chances of completing the speech by 31 January look slim.

President Muhammadu Buhari volition beryllium stepping down successful May to handover to his successor aft completing 2 presumption successful bureau arsenic a democratically elected leader.

Yet for immoderate it brings to caput the currency alteration that took spot successful the 1980s erstwhile Mr Buhari was the subject caput of state. It was a clip erstwhile well-off backstage concern radical mislaid fortunes.