Naira Scarcity: Lagos Students Use Foodstuff To Pay For Transport

The controversial cashless regime of the Federal Government has continued to take Nigerians to extremes with the scarcity of the new and old naira notes making Nigerians to think out of the box.

Only a few banks and Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, have adequate cash.

In Lagos, some students say they have been paying for transport and other services with foodstuffs they take from home.

On Tuesday, two students of the Government Technical College in Odomola, Epe, narrated their experience to Dailypost.

Ridwan, who studies Plumbing and Pipefitting, said he had to pay for his fare with rice while returning to school on Monday. The teenager recalled how the drivers of the buses he entered initially got furious when he could not provide cash but eased after he offered food.

“As I was leaving in the morning, I could not get cash from the ATM or PoS, so I used the only cash with me to get to Chevron bus stop. It was rice that helped me get to school. The price from Chevron to Ajah is N300 but I gave the bus driver one derica of rice. Ajah to Epe is N1,000…I paid with another one derica. When I got to Epe, I explained to the okada man that I didn’t have cash but had food. He took me to my area near Landlord Association road and I gave him one derica instead of paying N300. That’s how my three derica finished,” he lamented.

Tunde, who studies Garment Making, revealed he used a loaf of bread in exchange for transport on Sunday, saying other colleagues do the same in recent times.

“No cash and we cannot withdraw for some weeks now. The foodstuff we take from home is small but we don’t have a choice other than use it to find our way. If you’re not ready to drop something, no car, bus, okada, or even keke will carry you except the ones that decide to assist because we are students,” he said underlying how the naira scarcity is taking Nigerians to the extremes.

Meanwhile, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has asked President Buhari to disclose how his government is obeying court order. Reacting to the judgement, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, said the Supreme Court displayed courage and rescued Nigerians from “the pangs of death, frustration and looming economic recession.”

SOURCE: Dailypost

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