Every progressive society is governed by known laws and rules. Development depends on the rule of law, due process, and the eradication of arbitrary and autocratic decision‑making. The recent redesign of Nigeria’s national currency, the naira, together with emerging policy and legal issues, a Supreme Court decision, and the hardships that have followed, highlight the challenges of governance and the rule of law.
The controversial currency redesign required Nigerians to deposit their old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes with banks, as these notes were to cease being legal tender on 31 January 2023. Public outcry forced a shift in the deadline, and the Supreme Court intervened after governors of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states cited the hardship caused by the scarcity of naira notes. President‑elect Bola Tinubu, then a presidential candidate, and the ruling All Progressives Congress complained that the policy was aimed at demarcating voters in the election. The Court first issued an interim order, which the executive ignored; President Muhammadu Buhari personally issued directives contrary to the Court’s order to maintain the status quo. In its final judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that the old currencies should remain legal tender alongside the new notes until the end of 2023. As the highest court in the land, its decision is final and unappealable, and was expected to resolve the controversies surrounding the naira redesign.
Nevertheless, ten days after the judgment, long queues persist in banking halls, both old and new naira remain unavailable to the public, and money‑transfer services continue to delay transactions for days. The President has issued no directive, the Attorney General Abubakar Malami remains silent, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not instructed the banks. In effect, the Supreme Court’s decision is being disobeyed, placing the executive in contempt of the apex court and violating its constitutional duty to enforce court orders. The governors who initiated the Supreme Court action, claiming to act out of love for the Nigerian masses, have lost their voice, while the president‑elect and the ruling party appear indifferent to the hardship endured by the people. What began as a cry for electoral fairness has become a neglect of citizens once the election was won.
The implication of the President and the CBN governor ignoring the Supreme Court’s decision is an invitation to anarchy, lawlessness, and executive impunity. Disobedience to court orders undermines democracy and the rule of law, disregards the constitutional separation of powers, and echoes the authoritarianism of past military dictatorships. After 23 years of civilian rule, such executive rascality betrays the aspirations of Nigerians who fought to end military rule. The refusal to comply with the Court’s order is an open call for Nigerians to rebel against tyranny and the continued violation of their fundamental rights.
The right to property is recognized in all civilized nations, including Nigeria. Money represents the value of individual property—the sweat, hard work, innovation, and ingenuity of a people. Depositors place their funds in banks under an explicit trust relationship, expecting banks to honor requests for access. The current situation, where the CBN employs subterfuge to deny Nigerians access to their money—first under a policy of doubtful legality and now under a policy the Supreme Court declared illegal—constitutes an unprecedented attack on Nigerians’ rights and liberties. Depriving lawful owners of the use and access to their property is clearly unlawful. Law‑enforcement and security officials with access to the President must advise him to obey the Supreme Court order and refrain from targeting perceived enemies of the government, as such actions would only fuel imminent revolt.
Poverty has been pervasive in Nigeria due to the failed economic policies of the Buhari administration, a fact confirmed by recent National Bureau of Statistics data on multidimensional poverty. The currency crisis has exacerbated this precarious situation, increasing unemployment, misery, and diminishing private capital’s ability to generate goods, services, and value. While redesigning the naira is not inherently wrong, the exercise would have been seamless if it were a straightforward monetary‑policy measure—allowing Nigerians to exchange old notes for new ones within the prudential limits of cash transactions and existing legislation. Instead, the redesign was entangled with agendas unrelated to monetary policy, such as curbing corruption, vote‑buying, fighting terrorism, and an ill‑prepared push toward a cashless economy.
With less than three months remaining before the 29 May 2023 end of his administration, the President must consider how he will be remembered. Every individual and public official has the freedom to act or neglect duties, to obey the law or contempt it. Yet history is not written by a single person, nor can one impose his legacy on those he serves or on future generations. It is time for the governors who initiated the Supreme Court proceedings to return to the Court to commence contempt proceedings, as the judgment has been breached.
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