Evaluation of Nigerian Government’s New Cashless Policy: Insights from Select National Dailies (Published)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a bid to reduce inflation and stabilize the country’s economy, introduced cashless policy in 2012. The move became more pronounced following the recent efforts to redesign the country’s 200, 500 and 1,000-naira local currency denominations, which resulted in high scarcity of money in circulation. Since then, the initiative has remained a contentious issue. This study appraised the level of success, impacts, challenges and prospects of the policy as reported in select Nigerian national daily newspapers. The study was anchored on the Diffusion of Innovation and Agenda Setting theories, while relying on secondary data, sourced from five Nigerian national daily newspapers. Manifest contents of the editorials/opinions and feature stories contained in the newspapers were analysed. Findings show that absence of appropriate legal/regulatory framework for e-payment; poor epileptic electric supply, illiteracy, lack of financial infrastructure; risk of identity theft and poor service from network providers were among the factors that hamper the success of the cashless policy in Nigeria. The paper holds that cashless society provides safer and more practical alternative means of transacting businesses than over reliance on physical cash, and that the initiative can improve on Nigeria’s economy only when well implemented, and calls on the government, financial institutions, network providers, academic institutions and other key stakeholders to work in synergy for a successful cashless economy to be achieved in Nigeria.
Keywords: CBN, Economy, Newspaper, cashless policy, physical cash
Product Design Qualities and the Economic Trade Patterns of Investors in Nigerian Consumer Market (Review Completed - Accepted)
Design has become an extensive catchword that embraces all terms and business practices. It is pivotal in the growth or otherwise of global business practices. Elegance and meretricious finery are highlighted in both aesthetic and functional realms as utilitarian necessity. Besides, there is visible and incontestable eruption of affinity and propensity in Nigerians to buy durable designs but the economy of the nation and by extension, the individuals leaves much to be desired. Huge investments on varieties of product designs for local consumption in Nigeria dwindled on daily basis because of low living incomes and domestic earnings. The proliferation and infiltration of fake products for Nigerian consumer market was necessitated by a great deal of enthusiasm in the purchase of cheap but attractive designs of low quality. Product design is generally judged by their characteristic contents and the sensation of packaging. There is the exigent need to cut corners with poverty in the acquisition of life-supporting products such as building materials, automobile spare parts, electrical-electronics, textiles and clothing products, foot wears, etc. This study argues that every mention of design emerges with new proficiencies and specialties essential for production, consumption as well as the ordering of principles that constantly propel interests in acquisition. The study also looks into the Nigerian economic capacity to acquire quality products with a view to reviewing the investors’ practices. The reasons enumerated above provide answers to why Nigeria is readily a dumping ground for sub-standard designs in recent time. Survey method was used to carry out the study. The instrument used was questionnaire in which responses were elicited from local investors who purposively formed the sample size. Findings arising from this study showed that design products from some Asian countries top the list of consumer favourites. Although, consumer and professional product designers are collaborating in their fields to give integrity and essential marketability to make designs usable, findings revealed that only very little of original goods exist side by side with sub-standard products that flood everywhere in the country. There are pockets of sharp practices and there exists greater suspicion for a Memorandum of Understanding between the Nigerian investors and their foreign business partners on relaxation of qualitative materials for the production of sub-standard designs which the impoverished majority could afford in the Nigerian market. The paper concludes that the wide-ranging influx of sub-standard designs into Nigeria often reveal hidden attitudes of the investors, their foreign partners and the end-users.
Keywords: Dumping ground, Economy, Integrity, Investors, Poverty, Sub-standard