A Muslim group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged the federal government to with immediate effect, withdraw from circulation the N100 note issued by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a press statement signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, it noted that the major feature of that banknote was the removal of Arabic Ajami.
“Nigerians consider Jonathan’s N100 note inferior to others printed earlier. It is of very low quality. It tears easily. It lacks second hand value. It grows soft and fragile with time, thereby making it difficult to handle or fold in people’s pockets or wallets. It has therefore failed as a veritable means of exchange. Placed side by side with the old N100 note which still has the Arabic Ajami inscription and which is still in circulation, Jonathan’s N100 shrinks into oblivion,” the statement read.
The group described the N100 note as “a fiscal embarrassment, a huge disappointment and a colossal waste of the nation’s scarce resources. Three and a half years on, Jonathan’s N100 note has qualified for the worst banknote ever printed in Nigeria. It is a national disgrace. This banknote should be withdrawn from circulation.”
Professor Akintola further lamented the removal of Arabic inscriptions on the note, saying there has been surreptitious pressure from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for the removal of Arabic from the naira.
He said: “But Nigerians need to know that this move was calculated to hurt the Muslim population and may end up as a disservice to the nation. The average Northerner cannot read any other script except in Arabic Ajami and anyone who wants to communicate with him effectively must use the Ajami, not even writings in Hausa language can help in this matter. Millions of Northerners have therefore been marginalized by removing the Arabic Ajami from Jonathan’s poor quality N100 note and Obasanjo’s N5, N10, N20 and N50 denominations.
“The removal of Arabic Ajami is being interpreted as an attempt to discourage the learning and use of Arabic language which is the language of the Glorious Qur’an. It is a sensitive religious matter. Nobody can do this in Nigeria and expect the Muslims to organize a carnival for him. But as usual, our leaders manifest the noun ‘deaf’ and the verb ‘to ignore’.”
“We affirm that Jonathan’s N100 note was a scam. We therefore call for a probe. We warn against any attempt by any future Nigerian leader to remove Arabic Ajami from the few remaining denominations. We will not hesitate to deploy every constitutional means at our disposal to stop such an attempt now or in future,” he added.
