One of Nigeria’s finest Public Affairs Commentator, Sani Michael Omakoji ( SMO ) has said, Godwin Emefiele and Abubakar Malami were used by Buhari’s cabals to play ” double four ” in Naira Redesigning policy.
In his football like write – up, SMO explained the purpose of “double four” in a football match and how both Godwin Emefiele and Abubakar Malami were used to play such role.
Let us read him:
“In a football match, when a coach decided to play ‘double four’, it means, he doesn’t want to take chances as he wants at least a draw out of the match instead of accepting defeat before going into the match
This tactics is often deployed, when a coach and his technical crews perceive that their opponents in that match are good enough to overwhelm their normal defense and win the match.
Such was the role, Godwin Emefiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) and Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the federation played for President Muhammadu Buhari ( Coach ) and his cabals ( technical crews ), in the Naira Redesigning policy that made millions of Nigerians to face an agonising situation which was and is still the second worst circumstance Nigerians have ever faced after civil war of 1963.
One may ask why this policy in the first place?
Well, there are several reasons from different commentators with different backgrounds but the one that was so unpopular, ‘political sabetuer’, seemed to be the reason behind the policy.
If you follow Nigerian political trend, you recall that some cabals in Buhari’s government never wanted Senator Ahmed Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to emerge as the All Progress Congress’s presidential flag Bearer but he emerged after the reported dollars he dolled out to each delegate became unimaginably the highest compared to all of his co- contestants could offer.
With this, he became the party’s choice for presidential candidate by fire or by force.
This development was circulated in some of the media not to have gone down well with Buhari’s cabals and Buhari himself.
What then could they do to stop this Lagos’ former Governor and Senator ?
This is where the idea of Naira Redesigning Policy was birthed.
Cabals along their ‘Principal’ now thought it out and instructed Godwin Emefiele to introduce the policy that was intended to cripple businesses and bring serious discomfort to Nigerians.
They felt by so doing, majority of Nigerians will hate APC the more at the polls in such that it will bring total failure to Tinubu in his presidential bid.
Similarly, Abubakar Malami, Attorney general of the federation was also instructed not to agree with any intending plaintiff should any one approaches court to challenge the policy.
Of course, some Governors with billions of Naira notes in their farms, overhead tanks and under ground buildings did approach supreme court to challenge the policy though not for public interest but for their own selfish reason best known to them.
All these happened before the presidential election but Godwin Emefiele and Abubakar Malami playing double four for cabals refused to obey court judgement that says, the policy is ill conceived, and untimely , thus, old Naira notes of N200, N500, as well as N1,000 should be used side by side till on 31st December, 2023.
To them, with the implementation of this policy, this Lagos ‘ politician won’t be able to indulge in vote buying that will pave way for his victory.
To fast forward, boom! disappointment as their wish never came to pass rather, Ahmed Bola Asiwaju Tinubu in a most dramatic way ‘INECtically’ won the 2023 presidential election conducted on 25th February 2023.
Amidst this, Nigerians were battling with cash crush, business down time, starvation, hunger and all forms of transactions setbacks due to untimely introduction of Naira Redesigning policy that brought about cashless policy.
Now their conspiracy against this Lagos ‘s “city boy”, has failed and they are now confused! So what next?
To even make it more calamitous for them, the supreme court on 7th March 2023 ruled again for second time that the old Naira notes should continue to be a legal tender until on 31st December 2023 and this time around they can’t resist the judgement.
Ironically, President Muhammadu Buhari, who made a broadcast after the first supreme court judgement that “the old Naira notes have ceased to be legal tender as from on 15th February, 2023″ has now come out to blast Godwin Emefiele and Abubakar Malami for not obeying court order.
Who is this man deceiving again ? Is he also saying he wasn’t the one that made that recorded broadcast on National Television stripping old Naira notes of their legal tender?
Was Godwin Emefiele and Abubakar Malami not acting on his instructions and that of his cabals ?
If no, why did he take him ten good days before responding to supreme court judgement that was given on 7th March 2023?
Again, to take him serious, what did he say when Godwin Emefiele, said he has destroyed all the old Naira notes collected?
Why is this man thinking he can fake everybody including those who are saving his comments side by side with his antecedents?
In a nutshell, this man should put his office and ego aside and apologize to Nigerians for politicizing a good policy like cashless policy that has yielded positive result in other climes.
Mind you, I have no regret defending the policy abinitio giving my distinct reasons of curbing inflation; reduce government’s huge resources of printing Naira; reduce vote buying during election and of course to checkmate illegal transactions ( kidnapping business demanding for ransom and adoption asking for huge reward in return ) without receipts.
Going forward, commercial Banks should be put on their toes to make USSD code and mobile banking more effective; people living in rural areas without Telecommunication services should be provided with one or two; CBN in collaboration with National Orientation Agency should embark on aggressive awareness why cashless policy and of course government should ensure feedbacks from the citizens are not taken for granted why implementing this policy”.
