If there is anything that also needs attention in Nigeria apart from the economy, security and food availability, it is naira mutilation.

There is no doubt that Nigerian currency, the naira is one of the world’s most mutilated currencies. It is badly handled by the users. Despite all the arrests made by the law enforcement agencies and adverts placed on television and other media outfits, it is still be used roughly.

Now that people spraying it at parties are being arrested, some are still carrying out the acts during other events like comedy shows, where they used their legs to sweep money or step on it knowingly or unknowingly.

Also, some people are still in the habit of keeping their monies in their brassieres, underwear, handled with stained hands either blood, engine oil, palm oil among other stains and yet it is still being used for transactions.

The country’s Apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN had on several occasions withdrawn mutilated naira but the more they withdrew them out of circulation, the more they multiplied.

Investigation has shown that most of the mutilated money withdrawn and moved towards Nasarawa from Abuja are taken somewhere else before heading to their destinations. They allegedly withdrew the ones that are a little better without the bank knowing while the bad ones are destroyed.

There is no doubt that the CBN is interested in ensuring that mutilated naira are withdrawn from circulation, because the more they withdraw them, the more they will replace and no one will claim that somebody somewhere is not making money from the reprinting or replacement of the naira in CBN.

The recent arrest of some of the staff of the organization and the connivance with commercial banks and online loan apps bankers are evidences that, there is serious corruption in the apex bank. Watch out for more revealing stories on CBN in our subsequent editions.

Meanwhile, one of the ways to tackle naira mutilation is through rejection and penalties. During a recent tour to Cote d’Ivoire and other West Africa countries, the citizens reject currencies that are mutilated whether paper notes or coins. And because of that, they are careful with the way they handle the ones in their possession and the acceptance of cfa. For instance, if there is a small hole or the paper currency is torn a little, no one will collect, not even a five year old child.

Even the American dollars and other currencies across the world are always rejected if they are found to have been damaged or mutilated.

And for you to be able to spend that money, especially if it is a higher currency, you have to take it to the bank yourself, where they will charge extra money to replace it. By the time it is introduced in Nigeria, people will be careful in the way they handle the naira since they know that the next person will not accept it.

The suggestion might sound cheap and stupid but a trial will definitely make a lot of sense. Rejection and fine for exchange for new ones, are the way to go, since law enforcement agencies cannot be everywhere to arrest people especially as majority of them are not in the rural areas where people come from town to do burial ceremony, marriage rite, where they still spray money.