Naira crisis: Kaduna residents turn to petrol stations for help

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, residents of Kaduna State have turned to gas stations for assistance in their desperate search for money to meet their urgent needs.

This development follows the lack of readily available cash in the majority of the city’s ATMs, which is also the reason point-of-sale operators had to close their doors.

According to NAN checks, people looking for cash flocked to gas stations dispensing fuel to look for people buying gas with cash rather than an electronic transfer.

A deal was then made with those in need of money, according to which they would pay for the fuel through an electronic transfer from their account and receive the money from the fuel buyer in exchange.
The arrangement was a relief to many people who had been experiencing extreme hardship, according to people interviewed in one of the filling stations.

“I learned about this arrangement today and went to a gas station where fuel was being dispensed. There, I spoke with a driver of a commercial bus, and he agreed to assist me.

We agreed that I should pay N7,000 through the station’s PoS, which I did, as that was the amount his fuel cost.

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“When it was his turn to receive the fuel, I presented the N7,000 slip and obtained the cash from him in exchange; this was a huge relief to me as I had no cash on me.
“The major challenge is that it is not everything that can be purchased through electronic transfer of money; there are some needs that can only be satisfied using liquid cash”, said Adamu Saleh, a resident.

He said commercial vehicle operators had been very useful in that regard, just as he praised them for not capitalising on the situation to requesting for something in return.

Another resident, Mrs Aisha Fika, said she had to accost three different people at a petrol station before she secured liquid cash.

“I accosted two people who told me they had already been ‘booked’ by others, but a third person obliged,” she said.

Fika said all efforts to secure cash through the ATMs or PoS proved abortive, until she got wind of the petrol station arrangement.
Another resident, Aminu Lawan, said the challenges with this arrangement, are the uncertainty of network service, and the time spent waiting for the turn of your helper to be dispensed fuel.

“Sometimes, the network can disappoint, or the person to help you is far behind in the petrol queue; except you are patient you may end up getting frustrated”, he said.

Others who spoke to NAN said the arrangement was a big relief, and had helped in reducing the frustration of many, occasioned by the current cash squeeze in the system.

Meanwhile, some hospitals in Kaduna patronised by ordinary people, are experiencing dearth of patients.

Some employees of the hospitals, who were interviewed by NAN, attributed the low turn out to the unavailability of new naira notes.

One of the employees at the hospital, who pleaded for anonymity, said some patients did not even have cash to settle their transportation fare to the hospital.

A patient, Mrs Munirat Umar, met in one of the hospitals, said in spite of her coming late, was able to see a doctor due to low turnout of patients, saying she met empty seats at the waiting hall.She said the lack of cash, as well as poor network that hindered seamless electronic transfer of money, had played a major role in reducing the number of patients in the hospital.
Muhammad Adam, another patient, said they were able to see a doctor but were unable to pay for medications because they did not have any fresh naira notes. Muhammad Adam brought his sister to the hospital.

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We have old naira notes, but they won’t take them, insisting that we use the new currency or the Point of Sale, the man said.

NAN also noted that Kaduna city tricycle drivers now prominently display their account information on their tricycles so that customers can pay their fares electronically.

Additionally, passengers were informed in advance that old N500 and N1,000 notes would no longer be accepted as legal tender.