CBN and Communication Flaws in Naira Redesign Policy
By Maryam Na-Allah
Ever since it was unveiled, the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been marred with several controversies, due to lack of robust communication plan by the corporate affairs unit of the apex bank.
The haphazard communication strategy deployed by the CBN to get citizens and other stakeholders’ buy-in for the naira swap policy, only elicited confusion, frustration, and uncertainty for citizens and small scale businesses, in particular.
Perhaps, those saddled with the image making job of the CBN do not know. But the reality is, communication is at the core of what makes humans and society work. Failure to communicate effectively can impede the success of policies and even lead to adverse reactions if the public misinterprets the authorities’ actions.
Recalled that on 26 October 2022, the apex bank announced the redesign of 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes. The CBN also disclosed that by 31 January, 2023, the old notes will cease to be legal tenders.
The reason, according to the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was to reduce the possibility of vote laundering and buying ahead of the 2023 polls, as well as to recover approximately 85% of the total currency outside of the banking system, among others.
But an acute scarcity of the new notes made the 31 January deadline unfeasible, and prompted the bank, with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari, to extend the legal tender status of the old notes till 10 February.
Eventually, the Supreme Court extended the validity of the old naira notes till December 2023.
It also faulted the policy and declared the naira notes swap implementation invalid, and an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
Prior to the implementation of the policy, the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmad, had warned against the devastating effects that the redesign would have on the Nigerian economy.
Similarly, other monetary institutions particularly the budget committees of the National Assembly had requested the CBN Governor to explain the importance of the policy and whether its implementation is appropriate (then) ahead of the general elections.
Also, several experts argued that the policy shouldn’t be executed with the brute force of the state, flaying the policy designers/implementers and the presidency.
Since the full implementation of the policy commenced (before the ruling of the apex court), many Nigerians struggled to pay for essential commodities not because they don’t have money, but simply due to the challenge of accessing funds from the banks.
Gbolade Idakolo, a financial expert, expressed concern about the impact of the non-availability of the naira on employment and the economy.
He suggested that CBN should have allowed the old notes to remain legal tender just like the N100 notes redesign in 2014, which goes side-by-side with the new note till it faces out, to avoid the prevailing disastrous outcome.
Considering all the power and resources at the CBN’s disposal, it could have communicated the policy better to the public with proper strategic engagement.
Deploying public relations tools to raise awareness from the grassroots level, educating low-level Nigerians, training bank officials on the methods of distributing the naira, and possibly adopting the e-naira platform as an alternative online transaction, as we transition from physical to electronic money, should have been prioritized by the apex bank.
Similarly, a direct-to-consumer advertising campaign on television, radio, and other platforms promoting the new currency could have also helped.
Aside from these options, CBN could have established partnerships with the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), the National Orientation Agency (NOA), and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, among others, for robust policy implementation to ensure the message reaches all citizens.
That way the naira redesign policy would not have been dead on arrival, and its funeral would have been finally performed by the Supreme Court’s ruling, which gave it a vote of no confidence.
