By Promise Adiele, PhD
There is no hiding place for Nigerians as they grapple with different difficult circumstances of everyday subsistence. Frustration and despair intrude into Nigeria’s daily survival procedure unhindered. It seems alien creatures have descended from Jupiter, aiding various elementals to trammel Nigerians, ensuring their consistent anguish. The banks are the latest nemesis of the people. Although some Nigerian banks and their staff have, over the years, conspired to inflict pain and hardship on Nigerians, these conditions are either muffled or not given the necessary publicity they deserve for reasons I cannot immediately decipher. But the problem has always been there ranging from missing funds, bank account hacking, incessant deductions, failed transactions, and all kinds of criminal complicities.
Indeed, the toiling masses in Nigeria are the victims of the excessive grandeur of a coercive political order whose benighted policies are diffused through the pores of capitalist institutions. However, Nigerians, as always and at all times, swallow these situations, wipe their faces, and move on while the socially prostrate conditions subsist. When Nigerians complain, it is always feeble on social media. The government looks away and the people continue to suffer. The criminal tendencies of some Nigerian banks have reached a painful crescendo and must be challenged by Nigerians. Many Nigerians know the culpable banks but they will never speak up even though they have evidence of their criminal indulgences. (According to the late Afrobeat legend Fela, my people self de fear too much…) Thus, Nigerians continue to wallow in mute hypnosis over diverse existential unease in their country.
Different banks in the country surreptitiously deduct various amounts of money from people’s bank accounts without explanations. They justify this criminal behaviour with inexplicable, unjustifiable nomenclature and clauses which the common man cannot comprehend. And because the amounts are always small, people ignore them and move on. When a bank deducts a hundred naira from one million bank accounts, it amounts to a lot of money. This happens especially on weekends when people cannot go to banks to complain. Of course, it is improbable that anyone will visit a bank to complain about the deduction of a hundred or two hundred naira. Banks should publish their range of deductions inside banking halls for the customers to see and become aware of these realities.
Everyone is familiar with the immediate deduction that follows a transfer (Commission On Transfer) but the other deductions done mostly at night are shrouded in mystery. How much does a bank deduct from an individual or corporate bank account every day, week, or month? The customer deserves to know. Due to these criminal tendencies of traditional banks, millions of people are patronizing online banking applications at the risk of losing their funds because some of these online banks have no identifiable physical addresses. Yet, people prefer them. They are more customer-friendly, more efficient, and do not deduct funds from customers’ accounts arbitrarily.
Last year, during the Buhari/Emefiele change of currency debacle, Nigerians saw hell in the hands of their various banks. The banks became business centres for all kinds of criminal attitudes. The racketeering was nauseating. The banking criminal syndicates flourished. Bank managers and other officers sold currencies openly and shamelessly. While Nigerians scrabbled for the new currency notes, buying them at exorbitant prices where they were available, banks sold them to POS operators and to socialites who spread the new currencies at social functions. In the scrabble for the new currency, many Nigerians lost their lives while bank officials smiled home. There were reports and video evidence showing how bank managers hoarded the new currency while thousands of their customers struggled at the gates of the banks. These people are simply wicked. A cousin of mine bought one million naira for one million two hundred thousand naira. I am sure many Nigerians have different violating stories and experiences to recount about that ugly period in our history. A friend told me how his bank manager brother-in-law bought a house during that period from the criminal proceeds of new currency racketeering. In the end, except for Emefiele, no one was arrested. No one faced the law. Nigerians moved on as always.
Recently, some banks in Nigeria have thrown their customers into confusion with the failure of their connectivity. Although these banks announced that they would embark on a three-day system upgrade, the problem has persisted for over a week. Until now, customers have been stranded and their funds held up in these banks. Last week which marked the end of September, many companies and establishments could not successfully pay salaries because these banks are still upgrading their systems. There is nothing wrong with a bank upgrading its systems. It happens all over the world. However, it becomes a problem when the exercise exceeds the normal time announced by the banks. During this period, Nigerians have suffered a lot. Accounts are debited without cash and mobile bank applications are not working. It becomes more annoying because these banks pride themselves as the best in the land and embark on expensive advertorials that mislead people with enticing jargon to bank with them. As I write this piece, millions of failed transactions are yet to be reversed. In most cases, the held up funds are the customer’s last money and in that case, the customer goes home crying. It is a shame.
Talking about failed transactions, I once used my Zenith Bank card on a First Bank ATM. I was debited but was not paid. I have practically done everything under the sun but failed to recover the money. I went to the First Bank branch where I used the ATM. They confirmed that I was debited but was not paid, then referred me to Zenith Bank where my account is domiciled. I went there, wrote letters, and met officials who in turn made calls to their head office. All my efforts amounted to nothing. I gave up. That money is somewhere now, stolen by someone. Zenith Bank could not trace my money. It has become a sad tale. I am using this medium to ask Zenith Bank once again, where is my money? Stolen?
My story captures the experiences of many Nigerians who are victims of failed transactions without reversals. When people consider the time and effort involved in following up on these issues, they give up and the money is stolen. The bank officials do not co-operate with customers facing these challenges. Sometimes the officials are rude and answer in an off-handed manner that leaves the customer frustrated. ATM issues are the worst. Nigerian banks should ensure effective upgrades of their system connectivity to save Nigerians from failed transactions without reversals. It is galling to pass through the eye of a needle to make money in Nigeria only for the money to get trapped in the bank.
Challenges in the Nigerian banking sector advance the perennial dialectics of the rich and poor social stratification. While the poor grapple with these issues, people of means, the rich and wealthy walk into any bank and have their needs attended to without delay. I once went to use a bank’s ATM, but it was not dispensing cash. We were all advised to go into the banking hall to withdraw from the counter. The lady over the counter quietly informed everyone that they did not have enough cash to pay anyone more than N20,000. While we all queued up, a man walked into the bank, jumped the queue, and stood in front of everyone. The bank staff all fall over one another to attend to him. I watched him closely, seething with rage. Then, he handed over a cheque, and pronto, they delivered two big packets of mint currency to him, in millions. I immediately protested, causing a scene inside the bank. Quietly, the manager came out, beckoned me and paid the amount I needed. That is the kind of perverse, double standard existing in our banks. While the man of means has his way in the banks, the uncelebrated hustler suffers to have access to his funds. While ordinary people queue up and obey instructions in banks, the man of means does not queue up. He pays his way and is given special treatment. Indeed, the Orwellian maxim “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others” will eternally guide our appraisal of social relations.
Nigerian banks, especially the ones that love to call themselves ‘big banks’ should wake up to their responsibilities and serve Nigerians well. Millions of Nigerians have not received salaries due to the failures of our banks. Bank managements have a responsibility to ensure that their staff are dedicated to the customers because every customer is important. I am sure many other abhorrent conditions exist in our banks which I have not mentioned but Nigerians know them. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the apex regulatory body has a responsibility to educate customers on their rights, ensuring that Nigerians hold their banks accountable. Lacerated by a supine government’s economic policies, Nigerians do not have the mental strength to deal with banking issues where their funds are held up. That could precipitate a mass uprising with tragic consequences.
Last week, some banks had to close early for fear of attacks by their customers. Amid all the malaise highlighted above, some banks through their various media handles still insist that they have the best customer relations approach. Such self-destructive logic will ultimately initiate a process of social backwardness where people will be forced to act in depraved ways. All the banks in Nigeria, arise and serve Nigerians better. Cut off all the criminal tendencies and rededicate yourselves to the people. Nigerians may not be patient for too long. Will the impending uprising in Nigeria start from the banks? Time will tell.
Promise Adiele PhD of Mountain Top University, can be reached on promee01@yahoo.com, X: @drpee4