Nigeria Unrest: Buhari Extends Use of Old Banknotes

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Facts

  • Nigeria's Pres. Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday authorized the central bank to extend the deadline for handing in certain old banknotes, amid tensions over cash shortages in the West African country. The deadline had previously been extended to Feb. 10.1
  • In a televised broadcast, Buhari announced that the old 200-naira ($0.43) notes may still be used for 60 days, while the old 500- and 1K-naira notes remain canceled but may be exchanged at the central bank and other designated locations until April 10.2
  • Nigeria has been facing cash shortages since the central bank began swapping old naira bills for newly designed 200, 500, and 1K notes to reportedly replace circulating dirty cash, fight inflation, prevent counterfeiting, and move towards a cashless society.3
  • The move led to unrest in the southwestern city of Ibadan, as well as Benin city and Delta state in the country's south, just days before Nigeria's general elections on Feb. 25. According to Delta State police 'unguided youths' set two banks and two vehicles on fire, while nine suspects were reportedly arrested.4
  • Last week, two people were reportedly killed in Ibadan, while riots also broke out two weeks ago in Kano, northern Nigeria's largest city. Many Nigerians — especially in the informal economy and transportation sector — use cash for transactions rather than banking apps.5
  • Both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party and its opposing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have blamed each other for the unrest, with the Edo State governor spokesperson — who is part of the PDP party — calling those who attacked the bank office 'hoodlums.'4

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2BBC News (a), 3BBC News (b), 4Guardian and 5Bangkokpost.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The vaultz news. The Nigerian people are fed up with this new policy, which is why six states have joined forces in a lawsuit to have the ludicrous policy overturned. If it was smart, especially with elections just around the corner, the APC and its leader, Pres. Muhammadu Buhari could end the policy on their own. Nigeria's economy is collapsing for completely unnecessary reasons.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Sahara reporters. Counter to the conspiracy theories being spread by the opposition, the current banking crisis is not the fault of Pres. Buhari. The president was duped by CBN leadership into thinking the policy would combat corruption; if he had known it would come to this, the APC and its leader would never have signed off on preventing average Nigerians from withdrawing money. Because neither the president nor the bank has absolute power, the solution is to follow the desires of the people.