By JS-Okutepa SAN

It is no longer news that Kogi State, Zamfara State and Kaduna state had approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Naira swap policy. It is also not in dispute that the Supreme Court granted interim orders of injunction against the Federal Government of Nigeria for the deadline of accepting the old changed Naira notes to terminate on the 10th of February 2023, the date the CBN extended that the old Naira notes should ceased to be legal tender in Nigeria. Today the case came before the Supreme Court and after legal fire work by lawyers, the case has been adjourned to 22nd February 2023.

As it is usual with us in Nigeria, a lot of politics have been introduced into an otherwise good policy of government that is meant to reduce the level of corruption and corrupt influences in our political and financial spaces in Nigeria. The policy of cashless policy seems to have curtailed begging at every places in our society. It has reduced the power of money bags to acquire powers at all costs.

My concern in this intervention is not going to be based on the question whether the Supreme Court before whom this case was filed and before whom many States governments are now applying to join to “fight for the masses” of Nigerians have jurisdiction to hear the case or not and to decide the matter, as that is a subject for the Supreme Court to decide.

That point has been raised. The Supreme Court will decide it one way or the other. That their lordships will do so without fear or favour affections or ill will. That is their duty. They will do it.

My intervention however here is to interogate whether these plaintiffs who are before the Supreme Court are fighting for the masses of Nigeria or are they fighting for better Nigeria where corruption will be a thing of the past or they are doing so for purely partisan selfish intersets. Are these plaintiffs fighting for the suffering masses of this country.

The answer to this question is not far to get given, the ulterances of some of these political rulers. The answer to this question was provided by no less a person than Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, the Governor of Ondo State when he was reported in the media that: “Akeredolu, who faulted the timing of the policy, said it was ill-timed and must be reversed. According to him: ”We have a problem we are facing in this country today. Our rating as a party is not that favorable. Let’s not deceive ourselves. Must it be now that we will have this financial policy? How? Fuel and everything? Things are not easy. This policy is not right at this time. It should be reversed. Reserve it and tell CBN that we are reversing it. Let old and new notes co-exist. Okada, taxis , banks are not taking old notes again. There is an injunction and everyone is behaving like there is no injunction. We have said that this man (CBN Governor) should be removed when he contested to be President. The man is not fit for that position. A man who attempted to be President will frustrate us at this time.”

This clearly shows the reason for the fight. It is not because the masses are suffering. No. It is because this policy will make capturing political power difficult. For me and many other well meaning Nigerians, any policy that can eliminate the level of the influence of money in our democratic processes even if introduced by my enemy should be supported.

There is no time better to introduce the policy. It has reduced the level of abuse of money and begging for money at almost every place of business. That the banks and other Nigerians are hoarding the money is not the fault of CBN. The CBN has the right to introduce a monetary policy that can help to curb financial and political hooliganism in our society.

Now let me say that the fight at the Supreme Court is not about the masses. It is about selfish interest. Nigerian masses never matter in the Nigerian political equation. How many masses in the strict senses have access to the stupendous wealth being illegally and unlawfully accumulated by those in power.

There is no doubt that energy being deployed to fight for the masses in the court in this case should be deploy to build good roads, good hospitals, and affordable and available health care centers across Nigeria. The efforts should be deploy to providing good transport systems for Nigerians across the length and breadth of this country.

CBN is not saying Naira should not be used. It can and it will be used. Those who have the interest of the Nigerian masses at heart should think about development of this country. The fight in the Supreme Court is not about the masses. It is not about the development of the masses. No it is about selfish political interest.

We have no principled leader in politics in Nigeria. Everybody is on his or her own for selfish reasons. No one amongst these so called selfish leaders love Nigeria and Nigerians. They love to see Nigerians suffer and they have no plans to develop Nigeria for better tomorrow.

When you see them quarel in the media they do show to mislead and misguide gullible people. When the quarel they do so not on principles but on mundane things that do not advance the well being of Nigeria and Nigerians.Their blue prints are their pockets. They have nothing to offer

I know the destiny of our greatness tomorrow is in the united Nigerians for good policy that eliminates bad governance and corrupt practices in Nigeria. The suffering masses must unite to hold these mindless selfish leaders accountable. We must reject them by all means. Nigerian must say no to continued recycling of failed hands. We must reject crooks and crooked ones

The crook and crooked ones are all over the political parties. For me the wickedness of the political class is not a function of the political parties. It is in the DNA of all political classes to think only of their selfish interest and not in the interest of Nigerians.

Nigerians unite. Let us hold our politicians and public officers accountable. We must avoid conspiracy to continue to underdeveloped Nigeria. We have resources to be great and great we must be. We must fight to liberate ourselves from the wickedness of the wicked in our land. Instead of uniting as leaders to provide the necessary amenities for the cashless policy to work in every nook and crannies of Nigeria society, these leaders are in the Supreme Court to fight an otherwise good policy.

Why can’t these leaders think out what can help us to be great nation. The other day a state governor was boasting of old cash it’s state has stored that can last for the next four years. What a country. What has these leaders done to make Nigeria great. Nothing. These are leaders who have not been able to develop our land.

Be it known that the fight in the Supreme is not a fight for the masses of Nigeria. That is my stand and I stand by it. It is a personal fight being elevated to a fight for the masses. Only those who cannot understand can be decieved.