The literary luminary, Wole Soyinka, has said that Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele, “committed a crime against humanity” with the naira redesign policy.
He stated this during an interview with Channels TV on Monday.
It will be recalled that in October 2022, the CBN governor announced the plan to redesign the naira to control money supply and aid security agencies in tackling illicit financial flows.
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The redesigned naira notes were unveiled on December 23, 2022.
The deadline for the implementation of the policy was fixed for January 31, 2023, but it was further extended to February 10.
The withdrawal of the old notes resulted in a scarcity of cash in the country, causing hardship for many Nigerians.
The cash crunch ignited protests in different parts of the country as Nigerians struggled to obtain the limitedly available new naira notes.
In February, a suit was initiated by Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara before the supreme court challenging the implementation of the policy.
However, the Supreme Court faulted the policy and legitimized the old naira notes — N200, N500 and N1000 — till December 31, 2023.
Speaking during the interview
Soyinka lamented the untold hardship unleashed on Nigerians, beyond even the electoral violence which the poorly executed policy intended to curtail.
He also faulted President Muhammadu Buhari for allowing the policy to stand to the detriment of Nigerians.
He said,
“Emefiele has committed a crime against humanity, over and beyond even any electoral foul play. He struck at the heart of the subsisting survival principles, minimal needs and entitlements of the ordinary people in the street”, Soyinka said.
“He and his boss, Buhari, because ultimately responsibility rests with him Buhari to have allowed this to happen. But Emefiele is the expert. He’s the one who gives the advice, he’s the one who executes the policies.
“Don’t bully me. Don’t take my voice away. Don’t take my economic potential away, my economical entitlements. Don’t throw me on the mercy of sadists like Emefiele”, he added.
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