Ever since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the redesign of the naira banknotes, the financial economy of Nigeria has been going haywire. The naira continues to tumble, the scarcity of dollars is making waves and even the Minister of Finance has washed her hands from the mess.
To add to all the commotion, some governors are trying to play smart and use civil servants to launder the money. We’re not making up stories and this is coming directly from the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa.
What we know about this plot is that instead of paying into their workers’ bank accounts, as usual, the governors plan to pay them cash so it would be easier to dispose of stashed old notes. The gang of Money Heist would be so proud.
Who are the governors?
So far, Bawa is only giving us half gist and has refused to mention the names of these governors. But he mentioned that two of them are from the northern region and the third is from the southern region. Considering the fact EFCC can’t prosecute serving governors, we’ll probably never hear the names from him. But we know whose collar to hold whenever they announce they want to pay workers in cash.
But how do the actions of these governors affect citizens?
The exchange rate will get werser
With the rapid and uncontrolled influx of money by these unknown governors, consumption rates are increasing. But the unstable demand will negatively affect bank rates. So if you see ₦1000 to a dollar as the exchange rate before 2022 is over, you know who to blame.
Nigeria will start losing its daily ₦2k from foreign investors
The price instability caused by black money in the financial system will affect the economy’s credibility in the global community. Rational entrepreneurs will find it inconvenient to invest in the country because they’ll also consider the country’s risk before investing.
And if Nigeria isn’t making money, it’s very unlikely that you’d make money as well. You may as well fix your appointment for a salsa date with sapa.
Mechanics may never become ballers
With the high rate of inflation, there’ll certainly be a divide between the rich and poor. It’d be harder for those making money in naira to purchase goods as prices would steadily increase while those earning in dollars will keep getting richer. No hope for mechanics.
In the end, what these three governors and others like them should know is that EFCC is watching, and so are Nigerians.
