The Return of the Barter Trade at Rural Communities in Nigeria

[Obari]

Nigerians have always shown a very high rate of irresponsibility especially from the leadership angle and that has been one of the major challenges we have.
Nigeria is a blessed nation with mineral resources, rich cultural heritage and a nation free from natural disasters but the government has made this great nation very unbearable for it's citizens as a result of their selfish and personal Interest.
This financial crisis has been one of the darkest moments in the country and my sincere condolence to the family of all those who lost their lives in cost of this struggle.
I hope this serves as an eye opener to your towards this forthcoming election that we shouldn't vote for party but rather for the right candidate and this can be done when we all get our PVC.

[SatoPrincess]

Nigeria is in a very difficult state, the banks in my region are no longer operating. I went to the market today to get buy foodstuff, the whole place was unusually scanty with just a few customers. Interestingly, many of the traders have adopted POS machines as payment gateway, it seems to be the only viable choice since cash is so scarce.

[Spaceman1000$]

The whole issue of Naira redesign is all politically motivated, because ordinarily you are supposed to allow both the new/old notes be used simultaneously and then the Banks gradually mob out the old notes from the system, that will take at least a year.
In England for example, the old notes which carries the image of the late Queen of England is still being used side by side with the new note carrying the image of King Charles until such a time when you will no longer see the old notes.

But the speed in which the Nigerian government is using for citizens to change bank notes in less than six months leaves a lot of us to believe that, there is a sinister move being politically motivated.

[Agbe]

Nigeria is in a very difficult state, the banks in my region are no longer operating. I went to the market today to get buy foodstuff, the whole place was unusually scanty with just a few customers. Interestingly, many of the traders have adopted POS machines as payment gateway, it seems to be the only viable choice since cash is so scarce.

That is how it is even in my locality. Most of the Banks have closed doy for the fear of attack and also for the scarcity of the new Naira banknotes. Indomie fast food sellers are also accepting transfer and some of them use POS machine for transaction. I really like when these food stuffs sellers are accepting and using POS for transaction because it makes things easier for the poor citizens.

[Sithara007]

Nigeria is in a very difficult state, the banks in my region are no longer operating. I went to the market today to get buy foodstuff, the whole place was unusually scanty with just a few customers. Interestingly, many of the traders have adopted POS machines as payment gateway, it seems to be the only viable choice since cash is so scarce.

Strange to hear this. How popular are mobile wallets in Nigeria? Here in India, we had a demonetization in 2016, and back then there was an acute shortage of physical cash. Everyone had to adopt to mobile wallets or UPI payments. POS machines are expensive and they charge very hefty commissions (up to 2% of the total value). Mobile wallets, at least for now are free to use (PayTM, MobiKwik.etc). Bitcoin wallets are even better, but here they are not much popular outside a few cafes and electronics shops. 

[Findingnemo]

It resembles with what happened in India when their government demonetised the money and issued completely new notes including higher denominations and I remember banks out of paper money due to unavailability but it was temporary and government managed to bring the liquidity back but they can't catch their growth like before.

But how it can be said we have to return to barter system? It doesn't work with current society structure and what will be the case of working class? Cause they are not producing anything so how they can get what is needed for their survival...

Well, it may resemble but there's no way that it is the same case, because Indian government, as far as I know, did that for a very good cause which was to fight black money and to make them worthless, hence they announced demonetization of their currency which they knew would be a big slap on the faces of those who earn and keep black money since they would never be able to come out in order to exchange the currencies.

This particular case to me seems like a plan or something maybe from the authorities or maybe from a bigger and more powerful source who might have some evil intentions which they want to achieve through this. Either way, I feel bad for the people living there.

That's what government told to their people but its already reported by many reputed analytical firms that they failed and I don't think anyone with millions of dollars are keeping it in the form of Fiat so it affected common people and ended up a big Chaos for atleast a year for people and also the small business which reduced growth rate and many people are still trying to get away from the effect of demonetisation in India.

[Majestic-milf]

 The economy is not looking to get better soon except something is done. During this period, individuals would take advantage of the cashless crunch and those who have would see themselves as king. Honestly, I won't blame those who have decided on the barter system because it's a better option to stealing.
 On the case of youths burning down banks, I doubt it would solve any problem because instead of lessening the woes of the masses, itd rather exacerbate the issue. It's just too bad that the government of Nigeria is at the center of this anomaly and chaos going on.

[Adbitco]

The CBN Governor and Federal Government are incapable of their leadership, reason because before the collection of the old Nairanotes they would have made circulation of New Nairanotes before coming to air out of their plans. I know other well known country involving in redesigning of their notes, there's no way anyone have died due to lack of their currency. Just take a look at Nigeria there's no enough ATM machine for people to have free access to their funds in terms of making withdrawal, by right there is no way people should queue on a line just to withdraw money or to deposit money in the bank, there should be enough arrangements before indulging in such action.

Shame on Buhari's Government under the umbrella of APC, they have failed us entirely and it's a disgrace people are dying because of Redesigning of Nairanotes.

[Mpamaegbu]

From what I read on the forum from members of the Nigerian community, it seems that their authorities are not quite capable of dealing with problems in an efficient and less destructive way for their citizens...

Not actually that our political leaders are bereft of ideas of what to do at any given time, the problem is that my country doesn't have strengthened institutions that can streamline the brashness of these leaders and call them to order when they cross the line. So, it has become a sport for them to do whatever they like and think they will get away with it; they actually do get away with a lot of it to say the truth. Imagine a country where the president wouldn't obey orders from the Supreme Court of the land. Would anyone expect he would obey lower court orders then?

[Lucius]

~snip~
Imagine a country where the president wouldn't obey orders from the Supreme Court of the land. Would anyone expect he would obey lower court orders then?

I can imagine it, because even though I live in a better-ordered country within the EU, I have a president who behaves like a spoiled brat and is one of the few who supports Russia because he plays some guy who wants to be on the side of the bad guys. Maybe you in African countries have a completely different idea of how government and politics work in the rest of the world, but believe me it's just an illusion that things work well, while on the other hand, incompetence and corruption are just much better hidden behind the so-called good intentions for ordinary people.

As long as the common man has a job and can put food on the table every day, he will not protest too much against the system, no matter how bad it is.

[Cryptomultiplier]

If in reality the barter trade system is invoked and utilized by a large or growing number of users, then the talks of how to set up an escrow system would be relevant. For now however, this case of trade by barter is influenced by new money policies which has made cash flow difficult, but where the hunger resides dwells the wisdom of how to survive, hence why it is gaining common ground within these rural communities with no hope for cash or means to buy food to feed.
Things are beginning to ease out a little with the total abandonment of the old #500 and #1000 Nairas which is no more in use. By the new week, we will see charges reduced and more availability of cash and an increase of transfer or online transactions for both local, small or large businesses.

[bittraffic]

The whole issue of Naira redesign is all politically motivated, because ordinarily you are supposed to allow both the new/old notes be used simultaneously and then the Banks gradually mob out the old notes from the system, that will take at least a year.
In England for example, the old notes which carries the image of the late Queen of England is still being used side by side with the new note carrying the image of King Charles until such a time when you will no longer see the old notes.

But the speed in which the Nigerian government is using for citizens to change bank notes in less than six months leaves a lot of us to believe that, there is a sinister move being politically motivated.

So much news about Nigeria adopting BTC, they can use crypto if there is the need to. We know they are not using the CBDC enforced on them because they have the idea that thier CBDC wallets are created by a 3rd party.

The country though is abundant with resources and food supply I think the people will still not go hungry if they just help each other. It's hard to believe thier government will deliberately put thier people in such a difficult situation. There's got to be an outside government telling them to do this and that which we all have the idea.

[lizarder]

But reaching the deadline which made all the citizens to go and deposit all their old naira notes to their various banks for the fear of expiration but when the last date came CBN extended the deadline and banks refused to pay their customers the money that is in their bank accounts from inside the banks except from the ATM and that makes or form a very long queue on the AMT stands.

Many people died because of this and almost 60% of business collapsed. On the 13th of February 2023, in my locality (State Capital) all the banks closed down. Bank network is malfunctioning.

Regulations like this make the condition and situation of our brothers and sisters there not good, even worse than the impact of inflation that has occurred in several countries. In my opinion, there are mistakes made by the responsible parties, resulting in long queues at banks and ATM booths. We can conclude that they failed to provide guarantees for the community in terms of service, then how do we expect other things that are more influential on the survival of the people there. Supposedly when currency is changed they give a bit longer time for people to exchange old currency and not forcing them to deposit and withdraw money from the ATM.

I also don't know for sure whether this falls into the category of deflation, but what happened there was influenced by the volatility of cash stocks which are increasingly scarce and in my opinion there will be potential for inflation, if the responsible party does not seek a solution in the near future, then the potential for an increase in the price of basic commodities (basic necessities) will increase and this is where the role of inflation will affect the condition of people in Nigeria so that the condition will get worse and out of control.

[panganib999]

The redesigned of the new Naira banknotes was announced late last year and the deadline to use the old naira notes was given on the 15/01/2023 and before then the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN plus the Federal Government in the country told the citizens that the newly resigned naira notes will be available for everyone to use before the deadline, though they said nobody can withdraw more #20,000 which equivalent to $43.43.

But reaching the deadline which made all the citizens to go and deposit all their old naira notes to their various banks for the fear of expiration but when the last date came CBN extended the deadline and banks refused to pay their customers the money that is in their bank accounts from inside the banks except from the ATM and that makes or form a very long queue on the AMT stands.

Many people died because of this and almost 60% of business collapsed. On the 13th of February 2023, in my locality (State Capital) all the banks closed down. Bank network is malfunctioning.

Survival of the fittest by Hobbes

The age group ( old people) can't queue on the ATM and also they are not conversant with cashless technology. So they have to resort to their old way of buying and selling method. That the exchange of goods to goods so that they can survive. Barter




Cash Crunch: Rural Dwellers Resort To Trade By Barter

Looks like we're returning to our old habits to get by huh. In most Asian countries the concept of bartering remains til this day and some facebook groups are literally tailor-fitted for that very concept. You got a spare fridge you can't fit in your house anymore but you want this grill I got for cheap that I'm willing to toss out? Sure let's trade.

In all seriousness though, Idk what the hell is going on in the heads of the legislators at Nigeria. You don't impose a new economic system outrightly, because there are marginalized groups out there that wouldn't know the change has passed through and would not be able to catch up with the times. This regime just sounds so Great Leap Forward by Mao Zedong to me. I hope they had their brains looked at or something because this is not right.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Many people died because of this and almost 60% of business collapsed.

I don't doubt the stories of long lines at the ATM machines, but the two examples given here don't exactly lead me to believe that their cause of death was standing in line too long.  Was that pregnant woman in line?  Did she have to be there since her husband could have gone alone?  That part of the story sounds like inflammatory journalism.

But damn, if people are going back to a bartering system you know the country's currency is in serious trouble--the whole reason we use cash or credit/debit cards is so that we don't have to resort to finding someone who needs what you've got and has exactly what you need.

And sure, the elderly might have problems using ATM machines but I have to think that many of them have younger family members who'd help them out, no?  In any case, it sounds like there's a huge clusterfuck of a situation in Nigeria, and I feel for you.  Thanks for sharing.  If you hadn't posted this, I would never have heard about it on the news or anywhere else for that matter.

[Mpamaegbu]

And sure, the elderly might have problems using ATM machines but I have to think that many of them have younger family members who'd help them out, no?  In any case, it sounds like there's a huge clusterfuck of a situation in Nigeria, and I feel for you.  Thanks for sharing.  If you hadn't posted this, I would never have heard about it on the news or anywhere else for that matter.

Yes, the elderly will have that problem but like you rightly pointed out; they've younger family members that can help them out. The problem with my fellow countrymen is that they find it difficult to embrace change. The sacrifice is not often there once it's something that will inconvenience them a bit. We want everything on a platter of gold without paying the price for it. We're often quick to point to countries with organised system and envy them but we don't want to allow such experiment a chance in our country. These same old folks didn't want the GSM when it debuted in Nigeria in 2002. They said it would be noisy to the ears and expensive to maintain. Today, those old folks barely can do without it. I believe it's the same way with this cashless thing the CBN is introducing to us. It's just a matter of time but are we ready to give it that time?

[stompix]

Nigeria is in a very difficult state, the banks in my region are no longer operating. I went to the market today to get buy foodstuff, the whole place was unusually scanty with just a few customers. Interestingly, many of the traders have adopted POS machines as payment gateway, it seems to be the only viable choice since cash is so scarce.

Showed this yesterday to my father, had a good laugh at it, so:
-use of porous material, not clean material in contact with food
-no fridge to keep the mandatory contact surface under 5C  temperature
-no clean utensils used for intermediary meat processing, no designed space for depositing them between usage
-no mandatory gloves used while serving customers
-no sign of running water, scraps directly in plain view, meat of different kinds in the same space
-no label, no packaging, no readable label on the date and provenance of the meat, no sign of the last inspection
-let's not even talk about pest control
-probably mentioning something as mesophilic risks would be futile
-if it's not the cameraman's shadow then obviously traces of metmyoglobin which means already a lot of time since butchering

As a seller, I would love to do business there, as a client I would go vegan.

Nigerians have always shown a very high rate of irresponsibility especially from the leadership angle and that has been one of the major challenges we have.

Well, that's the bulletproof way of turning a country into one big ****.
The moment the population doesn't care at all who you put in power, the moment there is no such thing as consequences for imbecile or crooked leaders the country enters a death spiral of agony til it finally pushes the rest button, which although it will lead to possible better times with will come also with a lot of pain, and in some cases, the population will rebel against reforms and it will revert back to the spiral, a never-ending nightmare and it's better to act now if you still have the chance until there nothign to rescue left. Otherwise...there are plenty of examples where this leads to!

[Agbe]

Many people died because of this and almost 60% of business collapsed.

___but the two examples given here don't exactly lead me to believe that their cause of death was standing in line too long.  

I am saying it from my personal experience, there was a day I went to the by 3:30am in the night to take position to stand and waited for the bank to open by 11am even at that was not guaranteed that we would collect money from the bank, I stayed on the line for more than 12 hours standing to collect money, most people slept at gate of the bank. When I went there to stand at that of the night against Bank opening, I was at number 200 in that night (morning) 3:30am.

Was that pregnant woman in line?  Did she have to be there since her husband could have gone alone?  That part of the story sounds like inflammatory journalism.

I didn't exaggerate or given overstatement of the story as you can see from the image caption.. Nigerian News here the husband went to the bank to withdraw cash but he could not get the cash and in Nigeria hospitals do not treat patients without payment, so for the long waited period the woman give up the ghost. When the husband return to the hospital, his wife had already died.

[GeorgeJohn]

The government of Nigerian is causing hardship for the citizens because of political interest, i believe that while they called for redesigned of Nigerian currency it's because of the election ongoing in Nigeria so that they will frustrates the politicians is going to influence people with money, so i believe that their motive is to fight for corruption, so not happening in Nigeria is for the benefits of the citizens, it's for personal interest of a political group only.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

If the local dwellers can have a common understanding to initiate the barter trade at the moment, it will help some of those elderly people have food to eat because a lot of people are passing through difficult times to get money and buy food, plus the fact that even transaction difficulties are being encountered. The barter trade can possibly work in most local areas of Nigeria but not in the city; there are some possibilities that people in the city can get adapted to buying things through a transfer or debit card.