New Naira Design: Is The Government Whining Us?

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On the 26th of October, 2022, Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria announced that new Naira notes would be introduced to replace the current ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1,000 notes.

The redesign is to take effect from Thursday, December 15, 2022, and existing Naira notes would seize to be regarded as legal tender by January 31, 2023.

Fast forward to yesterday, 23rd of November, 2022, the new naira notes surfaced online ahead of the unveiling announced by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. Later on, President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), approved the new naira notes.

If you are like me that when you hear the word “redesign,” you think of an entirely new design, something different from the current one. But to everyone’s surprise, it is still the same design and the only difference is the reduction in colour.

It was just as if a Snapchat filter was applied to the new naira note or it was bleached. While everyone was expecting something different, we were given vintage naira notes.

Check out a few reactions to the new notes below:

While it looks like the government is whining us with the “redesign,” as it is not necessary, we were given reasons as to how beneficial the redesign is.

As noted by Vanguard, here are 4 reasons why the CBN redesigned the naira notes;

1. The Naira note was redesigned to address the issue of individuals who have made currency fraud their main source of income. People who have hidden money they have stolen, for instance, would either find a way to change it by taking the money out or would not need it given the change in the value of the Naira.
2. The change in the notes is also said to aid in lowering the rate of inflation.
3. The change in the Naira notes is also intended to control the amount of money in circulation.
4. The currency change also aims to deal a fatal blow to the growing kidnapping and ransom industry.

With everything, it all narrows down to one question. Is the new Naira notes really a “redesign”?