According to the News Agency of Nigeria, people in Kaduna State have turned to gas stations in a desperate attempt to find money to meet their immediate needs.
This development follows the lack of readily available cash in the Automated Teller Machines of the majority of the city’s banks, for the same reason that point-of-sale operators have shut their doors.
NAN checks revealed that people looking for cash flocked to gas stations dispensing fuel, looking for those who were paying for gas with cash rather than an electronic transfer.
The parties then came to an agreement that stipulated those in need of money would pay the fuel price via electronic transfer from their accounts and receive the money from the fuel buyer in return.
People who were interviewed in one of the filling stations claimed that the arrangement was welcomed by many people who had been experiencing extreme hardship.
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“I learned about this arrangement today, so I went to a gas station where fuel was being dispensed, spoke to a commercial bus driver, and he agreed to assist me.
“We agreed that I should pay N7,000 through the station’s PoS, which I did, to cover the cost of his fuel.
“When it was his turn to receive the fuel, I handed him the N7,000 slip and got the money back from him; this was a huge relief to me because I didn’t have any 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, a different patient who came to the hospital with his sister, reported that they were able to see a doctor but were unable to pay for their medications because they were out of fresh naira notes.
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We have old notes of the Nigerian naira, but they won’t take them, insisting that we pay with the new money or at the point of sale, the man said.
NAN also noted that tricycle owners in the Kaduna metropolis now prominently display their account information on their tricycles to allow customers to settle their fair electronically.
Additionally, passengers were informed in advance that the old N500 and N1,000 notes were no longer legal tender and would not be accepted.