Amid a protracted fiscal crisis, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to move against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its gross ineptitude which has caused hunger and pain in the country.
The Islamic human rights organisation also urged the president to abide by the pronouncement of the Supreme Court on naira swap.
MURIC made the calls in a Saturday statement signed by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
“Millions of Nigerians have been going through excruciating pain, hunger and starvation since the Nigerian fiscal crisis began. Movement from one place to another has been extremely difficult and outrightly impossible in some cases. Patients in both public and private hospitals are finding it difficult to pay for their treatment.
“Parents and students suffer psychological trauma due to difficulties in money transfers. The poor masses are the worst for it. Food vendors are rejecting old notes possessed by poor citizens. Thousands of Nigerians are therefore forced to go without food. Transporters have refused to take the old notes and commuters are stranded. Millions of Nigerians cannot go to work. The economy may soon collapse and this is no false alarm.
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“Driven by pity for the deplorable condition of their beloved ones, responsible and decent men have started begging for food to feed their families while unsolicited bank account details are now flying all over cyber space. Something must be done urgently to address the present impasse.
“MURIC advises the presidency to move against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) without delay. It is obvious that this institution has failed to effectively distribute the new notes as well as monitor its disbursement to members of the public. It has created a fiscal bottleneck by withdrawing more than N2 trillion from the public and issuing a paltry N300 or N500 billion in return. This is either due to gross ineptitude, stack sadism or economic sabotage. Heads must roll in the CBN for this. Can Emefiele and his team try this in China?
“Yet we must tell President Buhari the truth. The buck stops at his table. It has become necessary that urgent relief is found for the suffering jamaaheer (masses) within the shortest time possible.
“Apart from this, Mr. President must find a way of abiding by the decision of the Supreme Court which earlier ruled that the old and new currencies should run parri passu. Respect for the principle of separation of powers is cardinal for the survival of democracy. This must not be too difficult for President Buhari at the twilight of his administration having been known to have always respected the rule of law.
“One thing must be stated very clearly. Nigerians are not begging for money. They are simply demanding the return of funds legitimately earned by them which the CBN cunningly and most wickedly forced them to deposit but failed to change to new notes as earlier promised. It is a breach of contract.
“Notwithstanding these inconveniences, we appeal to Nigerians to bear with patience and fortitude. This cup will pass. Any resort to violence will only cause more harm to the poor masses and struggling businessmen and women.
“For instance, the shops that were reportedly looted yesterday during demonstrations against the cash crunch belonged to some poor and innocent Nigerians. The owners of those shops may not be able to recover from the losses in the next five years.
“We call on religious leaders to intensify their prayers for the nation. Prayer points should include peaceful 2023 elections, smooth transition, political stability and economic buoyancy for our dear country, Nigeria. Pray for Nigeria’s political leaders that Allah may imbue them with the wisdom necessary to steer our ship of state to safety and pray for the youth to engage only in those things that will make this country great,” MURIC said.