Kaduna based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abubakar Ahmad Gumi, on Saturday, said the decision by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign the naira to curtail ransom payment will fail, as kidnappers will resort to dollars and other hard currencies.
Gumi warned that the redesigning of the naira will further put more pressure on the economy making the rotten situation worse.
Gumi who posted this on his verified Facebook page, while reacting to CBN’s redesigning of the naira, said what the country needs is a free market driven economy with minimal cash flow control.
The cleric noted that eight percent of Nigerians especially rural people depend on cash transactions, saying a sudden change to a cashless or cash-starved society will mean pauperising them in a spate of a short time which could trigger an unprecedented socio-economic turmoil.
Gumi wrote: “As for the question of starving kidnappers of the naira, it goes without saying that they will resort to dollars and other hard currencies which will further put more pressure on it making the rotten situation worse.
“This is no time for economic kamikaze! People that sell goods will tell you that most Nigerians don’t have the money to buy things; therefore most traders are running at a loss and are already folding up. At this junction, anything that can cause more cash crunch will be a disaster for the nation”
Gumi stressed:”Many good ideas are marred by wrong timing. This is likely to be another one. No matter how ingenious the hatchers may romanticize; the benefit will remain phantom since the reality on the ground is incongruous and it spells doom for the escapade.
“This kind of programme is not for a government that is in the throes of its demise. If there is any advantage of such adventures, it usually comes after many years of excruciating poverty and hardship which no well-meaning government should hand over such cruelty to any incoming government to manage.’