this NON?-SENSE? that NIGERIA does of not providing enough small denomination currency notes / bills across all the length, breadth and span of NIGERIA.

it was at a kiosk here in Nigeria.

it was at one of those filmsy make-shift wood? constructions that
a high number of persons in small-scale enterprise / business operate from here in Nigeria.

in a nation where there is seemingly
a strangulating bottle neck at
the door? and window? of access to opportunity and
forward positive economic growth,
the people have responded by employing themselves i.e
by providing employment for themselves
i.e by self-employment as sellers of wares, providers of services, etc
and
many of them
( .. at least those that can afford it or get the financial support required to construct one .. )
operate from these kiosks across Nigeria.

the fellow had apparently bought some commodity / commodities worth Naira 100 ( N100:00 ) from the lady running the shop / kiosk and given her a Naira 1000 ( N1000:00 ) note.

the lady was livid.
and it showed in her words.

“ you dey mad ! you dey craze !
you want buy some thing for N100:00 and you no fit tell me say you no get change.

you no even fit ask me say – madam, ah beg, you get change ? because na N1000:00 i hold for hand.
instead you come, you buy 2 bottle water of N50:00 making N100:00 and you drink the 2 bottle water finish before you come give me the money.

foolish man! na so people dey drink water ?
yeh-yeh man ! thief !
you think say i go allow you make you go.
wohh ! you no dey go any where today and i no go give you your change because i no get change.

foolish man ! idiot ! thief ! ”

this man was the calm type.

if not the situation could have blown up into something else.
the man was firm though.

that the man is/was the calm type was seen is his reply :

“ madam, i no be Central Bank of Nigeria.
madam, no be me be Nigeria Minting Company.
i no dey print money.
i no dey work for Central Bank.
as you no get change, na so me too i no get change.
i just do my jogging exercise finish na heem thirst catch me and na heem i come buy water drink. i buy the water, i drink am and i pay you.
no be say i no pay you.
madam, i be buyer. you, you be seller.
na your job to find the change wae you go dey give your customers when them buy something for your hand. ”

at that remark that :
“ na your job to find the change wae you go dey give your customers when them buy something for your hand ”
the lady shouted : fool !!! foolish man !!!,
flew/jumped at the man,
grabbed him by the t-shirt he was wearing and began to shout.

at this point,
passers-by and near-by persons came into the situation and
sorted things out between the man and the woman i.e
between the buyer and the seller.

no big deal really.

just another day in the life of persons resident in a country that does not have the common sense to provide change in large numbers for it’s citizenry across the length and breadth of it’s span despite the reality that for several years the people have complained that there is no change anywhere
and
where they are lucky to come across any, those ones are more often than not, tattered, smelly and in a generally bad state of maintenance.

yeah.

no big deal really.

just another day in the life of persons resident in a country that does not have the common sense to provide the smaller denomination currency notes / bills in large numbers for it’s citizenry across the length and breadth of it’s span despite the reality that for several years the people have complained that there are no smaller denomination currency notes / bills anywhere
and
where they are lucky to come across any,
those ones are more often than not,
repulsive to the eye sight
being
dirty, torn, shredded in parts/places and otherwise generally tattered
as well as being repelling to touch
being
smelly, rather un-sightly  and in an all together generally bad state of maintenance.

take a look to the right.

and look at that commercial passenger tri-cycle over there.

what’s going on there ?
why is there a crowd there ?

nothing much happening over there really, man.
just a keke marwa commercial tri-cycle driver ( male ) and a passenger of his ( also male ) who are exchanging blows.

and it looks like a fight to death.
it looks like a fight to the final finish
and
like a fight from which only one person can come out standing.

what happened ?

the man was going somewhere along the route of the commercial passenger tri-cycle.
he boarded the commercial passenger tri-cycle nicely and quietly
with no altercations between him and it’s driver.

when he got to his destination,
he alighted i.e got down from the commercial passenger tri-cycle
and paid for his Naira 100 ( N100:00 ) trip with a Naira 500 ( N500:00 ) note expecting to get Naira 400 ( N400:00 ) as change from the commercial passenger tri-cycle.

instead, he got an : “ oga, i no get change ” reply
from the commercial passenger tri-cycle
who had said to him
in an infuriating tone and
in an equally vex arousing manner :

“ oga, i no get change.
where you think say i go get change this early morning ?
na so you people dey do.
you know say you dey enter N100 drop.
and you no fit tell me say you no get change.
now, you don carry N500 give me.
where i go see change this early morning ?
na so all of una ( you ) craze ( crazy ) people dey do ”

at which comment,
the passenger being rather hot tempered and
probably used to expressing himself with his fists
had hit the driver and
the driver had responded and
a duel / fight had broken out between them there and then.

no big deal really.

just another day in the life of persons resident in a country that
does not have the common sense to provide change in large numbers
for it’s citizenry
across the length and breadth of it’s span
despite the reality that for several years the people have complained that there is no change anywhere
and
where they are lucky to come across any,
those ones are more often than not,
tattered, smelly and in a generally bad state of maintenance.

yeah.

no big deal really.

just another day in the life of persons resident in a country that
does not have the common sense to
provide the smaller denomination currency notes / bills in large numbers for it’s citizenry across the length and breadth of it’s span
despite the reality that for several years the people have complained that there are no smaller denomination currency notes / bills anywhere
and
where they are lucky to come across any,
those ones are more often than not,
repulsive to the eye sight
being
dirty, torn, shredded in parts/places and otherwise generally tattered
as well as being repelling to touch
being smelly, rather un-sightly  and in an all together generally bad state of maintenance.

this absence of the smaller denomination currency notes / bills has become a negative re-curring decimal through the various administrations that have ruled Nigeria since it’s first manifestations in 1989?

the civilian democratically elected President Olusegun Obasanjo administration ( May 1999 to May 2007 ) did something brilliant about it when it introduced polymer notes of N5:00, N10:00, N20:00 and N50:00 denominations.

that move was brilliant.

it enhanced i.e lengthened the life-span of the notes which had
previously been rather easily disfigured being in paper form
and
also made them more resilient
and
more resistant to bad and otherwise improper handling.

it looks like since then no one has copied this brilliant initiative of the civilian democratically elected President Olusegun Obasanjo administration,
for example,
by escalating it forwards to
convert the N100:00 ad N200:00 paper notes into polymer notes.

and in a commercial activity crippling scenario
and in an economic activity crippling scenario
in which
● the actors at the lower levels of the economy
● the ordinary people
● the persons in the lower economic / financial segments of the Nigeria economy

find themselves
hamstrung ?
strangulated ?
by this reality which has an altogether negative effect on
their transactions and activities

it is difficult

to presume, assume or in any otherwise imagine that
among the powers, persons, offices and individuals
that can influence things in this regard positively
there is a listening ear and/or a hearing ear that cares ………