Gumi who condemned the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) decision to re-design some Naira notes including N200, N500 and N1,000, said the policy could cause more cash crunch and lead to a disaster for Nigeria.
Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has said that redesigning Naira notes will not in any way stop kidnapping in the country, noting that it will, rather, elicit more unprecedented socio-economic turmoil.
Gumi who condemned the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) decision to re-design some Naira notes including N200, N500 and N1,000, said the policy could cause more cash crunch and lead to a disaster for Nigeria.
Recall that on Wednesday, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefele announced that the apex would redesign the selected Naira notes and that from December 15, this year, the new redesigned Naira denomination would be in circulation.
The announcement of the policy had generated mixed reactions from Nigerians, most of whom criticised the move arguing that it would create more economic problems.
Speaking on the CBN move on Saturday, Gumi in a statement made available on his Facebook page said that eighty percent of Nigerians especially those in the rural areas depend on cash transactions, and therefore warned that a sudden change to a cashless or cash-starved society would mean “pauperising 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.”
Gumi maintained that redesigning Naira would not cripple terrorists and reduce kidnapping, as being insinuated, rather, “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.”
He noted that “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 romanticise; the benefit will remain phantom since the reality on the ground is incongruous and it spells doom for the escapade.”
