Nigeria may be a country that so many people do not believe in but I love this country and there are so many times when I see people travel outside the country because they seem to be tired of Nigeria and they’ve got no plans to come back again. It’s normal but I have never had that thought.
My plan is to live here and always travel outside the country whenever I want. At the same time, Nigeria can be very tiring. There are so many things that happens and may make you regret that you were born here. I mean, things like the government not treating the citizens right, no jobs, poor infrastructures or many more.
Sometime ago, the Central Bank governor of Nigeria ordered all Nigerians to stop spending the normal Naira notes we used to spend. He printed new notes so he gave us an ultimatum to spend the old notes. If we ever take it to the bank, we’d be given the new note and once you pass that ultimatum, you may not be able to spend the old notes anymore so a lot of people were rushing trying to make sure that they spend all the old notes with them.
A lot of people even bought the things that they didn’t need. The aim is not to waste the money but to spend the old notes so you don’t have to go through the stress of going to the bank to exchange your notes.
Unfortunately, the new Naira notes that were printed weren’t enough for all of us if we decide to spend money. There were limited notes and that’s why you are usually given a lesser amount to what you asked for.
That’s why a lot of people made bank transfers then instead of spending all the cash they had.
A lot of people kept on going to the bank everyday so that they can get some cash that may sustain them for the day so when you get to the bank, you’re likely to meet a lot of people there and I mean a hundred or even more than two hundreds of people.
So many people literally spent their whole day in the bank once they visit there so the earlier you go, the earlier you leave.
During that time, a lot of people slept at the bank overnight to make sure that they answer them early at the bank on the next day.
One morning, I woke up with my sister and we realized that the bank had deducted over a hundred thousand Naira and that’s like $67. That’s a lot of money and we took to the bank.
I didn’t have my bath because I felt I was going to get home early since I would not be collecting cash. My sister and I got there and we were surprised to see the crowd. The people over there were too much so we were given a number.
We were just ready for it because it was obvious that we were going to spend over four hours at the bank gate even before gaining full access to the bank.
Suddenly, we noticed that the rate at which people were entering the bank had reduced. We saw bankers coming out of the bank to pick some particular people. A lot of people were wondering what was going on and we realized that those people already bribed the police officers by the gate so they can enter the bank fast and also go home early.
They kept on doing it but so many people kept mute until a guy challenged the police officers by the gate. This got me angry and I began to shout. You know I said earlier that I followed my sis to the bank so it’s not like I had something reasonable to do at the bank but I so much detest cheating.
I was at the peak of my voice shouting at those police officers and my voice was loud to the point that all the bankers came out of the bank to look at who was shouting. I’m sure you know it takes a particular amount of courage to face a policeman but I never assaulted them.
Suddenly, one of those policemen slapped me just because I was saying the truth and also revealed their secrets for conniving with the bankers to accept bribe from some people so they can leave the vicinity early.
It would have been sad if I didn’t have anyone to back me up. My sister is a very calm person so she was looking at me all through and was pleading with me not to talk but I didn’t answer.
I started to hear voices of people shouting at the policeman on my behalf for slapping me. It was a very big fight and the fact that he slapped me does not mean I kept quiet. He even threatened to shoot me but I knew that wasn’t possible because he’d go to jail. I’m from a rich home and I’m sure they won’t take it easy on him.
When the fight became loud, the bank manager came outside and pleaded with me. He asked me to enter the bank to sort what I want but I couldn’t leave others. It’s not going to make any sense. On the long run, I fought for them and made sure that they entered the bank together with me and so many people were able to achieve what they came for including my sister.
A lot of people gave me a shout out because so many people can’t do what I did. Some people even bought me things just because of the little thing I felt I did but I don’t know how big or important it was to them.
That’s my first time fighting so hard to the point of fighting people with gun but for what is not right. If it was right, I was never going to fight.
I’m glad I could fight for my people and I’m sure they appreciated my effort.
