Yes, time to stop them

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned that abusers of naira notes will be prosecuted by the financial regulator and in other regulatory bodies. The warning, according to the CBN, was necessitated by the activities of some people who “flagrantly abuse” the legal tender at social functions. It said “mishandling, defacing and hawking naira notes at social events” violate Section 21(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 (as amended).

CBN’s acting Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, said in a statement Tuesday that “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again been drawn to the activities of persons, who flagrantly abuse the legal tender by hurling wads of Naira notes in the air and stamping on the currency at social functions. There have also been cases where people mishandle the Naira, deface it, hawk the currency at parties and reject the currency in some instances. It should be stated that, contrary to the practice of these unpatriotic persons, it is neither cultural nor moral for people to disrespect the currency which citizens trade in.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Section 21(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 (As amended) stipulates that ‘spraying of, dancing or matching on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira or such note and shall be punishable under the law by fines or imprisonment or both. Accordingly, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is collaborating with the Nigeria Police, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to address the unpatriotic practice.

“We, therefore, warn Nigerians, particularly those at social functions such as birthdays, weddings and funerals, to desist from disrespecting the Naira or risk being arrested by law enforcement agencies. The Naira is our legal tender and symbol of national pride. Let us respect it and handle it with care.”

Indeed, the mindless abuse of the Naira has gone on for too long. It is time to end this. It will be difficult to withdraw a wad of Naira notes from your bank account with all the pieces in a good state. You would find some with torn ears, some smeared with ink, still some with names and figures written on them. Market women often stuff squeezed Naira notes in brassieres. When they are taken out eventually they emit nauseating smells.

It is not only fraudsters or drug peddlers that foul up Nigeria’s image in the eyes of the outside world. Naira abusers do worse. Their disrespect of national symbols says a lot about their level of patriotism. What makes this problem particularly serious is that Naira abusers are not only the illiterate. The educated and the high in the society are just as guilty. Dealing with this latter group will be harder for the CBN to handle in the fight against Naira abuse. However, try it must.