Nigerians have been busy protesting their frustration over the hardship and pain they have endured in their bid to get hold of the new naira and old notes.
They have also been left with feelings of frustration, indignation and tears as they have been trying to get cash from banks as well as petrol in the past days.
TMY Newspapers recalls that in October 2022, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), announced the plan to redesign the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, and asked Nigerians to deposit their old notes before January 31, 2023, when they would cease to be legal tender.
Although the deadline was extended to February 10, many Nigerians have found it tough to obtain the new naira notes.
Before the cash shortage, Nigerians were dealing with months-long petrol scarcity nationwide with the product now being sold for as high as N1,000 per litre in some states.
Faced with cash and petrol scarcity, Nigerians have taken to the streets in some states to protest their experiences at queues in banks and petrol stations.
On Friday, inhabitants of Ibadan, Oyo state capital, mounted roadblocks and set up bonfires to protest the tarrying petrol and naira note scarcity.
The protests disrupted vehicular movement resulting in traffic congestion in the capital city.
The unrest ended with Access Bank and Wema Bank branches sited in the Dugbe and Queen Cinema areas of the town being attacked.
In Delta on Wednesday, angry youths, students, traders, and commuters, took to the streets to protest the difficulty in buying petrol and withdrawing cash.
The demonstration continued on Friday as the protesting people barricaded sections of the Warri to Sapele road and other major roads in the Warri metropolis, causing gridlock in the area.
In Ekiti, angry students of Ekiti State University, on Wednesday, protested the petrol scarcity, which they said has resulted in the hike of transport fare.
They barricaded the Iworoko road around the school campus and also blocked the school gate.
Over in Enugu, TMY Newspapers correspondent reports that motorists and tricycle operators protested petrol scarcity in the parts of the state.
The irate protesters were said to manhandled pump attendants of filling stations and asked them to sell the product at government-approved prices.
Over in Edo state, inhabitants blocked roads and took to the streets to protest the shortage of naira notes and petrol scarcity.
Things, however, took a different turn at an ATM point, resulting in a clash between students of the University of Benin and soldiers in the state.
Back in Lagos, TMY Newspapers reporter said besides heated exchanges and bitter complaints in banks, civil society organisations have been busy, protesting over the unavailability of cash at ATM points and financial institutions.
The protesters chanted “all we are saying, give us new notes”, as they stormed the headquarters of major banks in Victoria Island.
