When Nigerians were demanding that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) align with the Supreme Court in its ruling that old Naira notes, not many new it will come on Monday night.
Now that the CBN has finally succumbed to that pressure mounted on it by the peaceful citizens of Nigeria will things change?
The Supreme Court had ruled that the old 200, 500 and 1,000 Naira should be in circulation as legal tender till December 31.
After that ruling the CBN kept mute for days, in what many said was a deafening silence.
However, on Monday, the CBN came out with one of the shortest releases it had put forward in recent times to align with the Supreme Court.
In all, it may not be out of place to say that those who desperately needed that Supreme Court judgment now have their Naira to spend.
While that jubilation may be on, it may not be Uhuru yet for all, because there are things this obedience of the CBN can bring to Nigerians.
1. More Money In Circulation
There will now be more money in circulation (old and new naira notes).
While we hope that there will be gradual increase in the amount of cash in circulation, the Central Bank of Nigeria will have to make sure that the cash will not overwhelm the system.
When this happens, there will be rise in price of commodities.
A school of though say the CBN should hold the Naira and allow the cashless policy to take root since Nigerians were already getting used to it.
Also, ease of access to cash might not come quickly.
One thing is for sure that with the alignment of the Central Bank, Nigerians can go and relax knowing that they will get cash sooner or later.
Just know that release will be done bit-by-bit.
2. Less Queues At The ATM Points
The crowd or number of persons queuing up at the Automated Teller Machines (ATM) to get Naira notes should reduce soon.
Basically, it is expected that the CBN will begin to release the money in certain percentage to the commercial banks to make money circulate.
However, that is if the CBN is willing to drop the cashless policy idea at this time.
3. There Will Still Be Rationing
The truth is that cash will still be rationed and not everybody will start getting cash immediately, but with patience and belief cash is bound to go round.
Yes excess cash in circulation has been mopped up and now it is time start releasing cash back into economy for businesses to pick up again.
There will be a lot of certainty, economic policies will flourish and there will be transactions because people are more certain.
4. The Economy Will Pick Up
With this singular move the economy is bound to pick because businesses that have hitherto gone moribund would start picking up. Foreign investors now have a reason to invest again.
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The stock market has been positive though in the last few weeks, but it has more opportunities to improve.
The agricultural sector that has majorly felt the impact of the cash crunch would also begin to witness a revamp.
5. More Jobs
Naira scarcity led to a lot of Nigerians losing their jobs because employers were finding it difficult to pay salaries.
This is often so when the individual does not have an account and is not willing to open one.
Hopefully, when the economy picks up there will more jobs for Nigerians who need it.
While this is a welcome idea, let us not forge that the central bank has the cash with it at the moment.
It is its sole responsibility to decide, how much to release, when to release it and that alone makes the ruling of the Supreme Court a mere statement on paper.
