By Samuel Ogude(Warri)
It is no longer news that three banks namely Union, First, and Access in Udu in Udu Local Government Area of the state have been vandalized by hoodlums on Wednesday, 15th February 2023. The reason for this is not unconnected with the challenges Nigerians are facing at present due to the redesign of new naira note which many customers of the banks are unable to get access to. This situation has made many of the customers gather at the front of the banks each passing day wanting to do one transaction or the other but to no avail as banks always give one excuse or the other to customers outside the banks gates.
No doubt, the burning of the banks has scared many of the other banks to open for customers for operation as they don’t want to be a victim of circumstances. While there are different versions as to why the hoodlums took laws in their hands, which actually sparked this vandalisation of the banks, many Nigerians have reacted this situation in different ways.
Based on the above, a cross section of Nigerians shared their opinions. Speaking to Bailout Magazine over the vandalism of the banks, the National President of Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Prince Dr. Kehinde Taiga said it is criminal for those hoodlums to have taken laws into their hands to have vandalized and set the banks on fire saying, violence is not the best solution to the problem. He said, it is just unfortunate that President Buhari does not respect the ruling of the Supreme Court judgment about the new naira saga which has degenerated to this level. He said, the constitution ought to be supreme adding, what is happening at present is can lead to state of anarchy.
He said:” What happened in Udu Road where three banks were burnt down is a criminal act, you don’t solve problem by violence”.
The National President of CDHR therefore asked Nigerians to remain calm saying he knows that Nigerians feel the pain but not by violence that solutions can be achieved. He said:” I advised Nigerians to remain calm as things would take their shape soon next”.
The Human Right Activist( Prince Dr Taiga) said the action of the hoodlums has put fear in the mind of the banking institutions hence, are afraid to open for fear of further attack.
On his part, a Senior Lecturer and Head of Economics Department, College of Education, Warri, Johnson Ebvwie said, what the hoodlums have done is bad as it scares other banks from opening to operate in the area. According to him, what the hoodlums have done can scare away investors which generally leads to unemployment for the people.
He said:” In situation such as this, other banks are now afraid to open to customers and that worsens the situation for the people as the little which they used to get, cannot be got anymore. Again, this can lead to unemployment as many of the investors will be scared to invest and when there is no investment, it leads to underdevelopment”.
Many others, who spoke to our correspondent, said those who perpetrated this crime are not to blame because they did it out of frustration. They said, it is quite annoying for one to have money in the bank and one can not get access to it and goes through hunger. They blamed the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele and the President Mohammedu Buhari who failed to have a common ground to make money available for the masses. One of them said:” Could you imagine, POS operators said that I should deposit N2000 for N5000 for new naira note, yet, I go to my bank, I can not access my money” .
Many said, the Bank Managers have dealings with the POS operators saying, whereas they cannot get money from the banks, the POS operators have access to money to do their business as this has led to their suffering in the midst of their money. They therefore called on the Federal Government and the Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele to resolve this problem of naira to enable them survive this harsh economy situation.
It would recalled that on the 15th February, 2023, three major banks in Nigeria were vandalized by hoodlums which led to the destruction of ATM machines, their sign posts, and sending ablaze cars in Union Bank.