Nigerians groan as cash crunch induces bleak Easter

Most Nigerians, especially Christians, will celebrate this year’s Easter in a simple, low-keyed style as a lot of them are yet to recover from the disruptions to their socio-economic activities caused by the poorly implemented cash swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
 
Everyday, Nigerians still throng the banks to struggle to get cash to meet financial obligations in their many spheres of operation. In many money deposit banks, the customers are still limited to N5, 000 in terms of the amount of money they can withdraw. Some banks pay up to N10, 000 and N20, 000 while others complain of lack of cash to be paid out despite the promise by relevant authorities that the banks would be flooded with cash in obedience to the Supreme Court judgment.
  
In Kano State, a resident, John Musa, told The Guardian that Easter celebration would be done in a limited form considering the economic situation especially the cash crunch, which has adversely affected businesses and people’s capacity to purchase items.
 
“It is the little money you have at hand that you can use to buy things, not necessarily the huge amount you have in your bank account. One may just need to cook and eat in the house but going out for shopping or going to recreational centres and buying a new cloth is out of the calculation,” Musa said.