In all my years of being a banker, I have not lived in fear like in the past few weeks, work-life as I knew it drastically changed. Just two weeks ago, I would typically dress opulently and practically walk majestically through the doors of the bank I work at the bank I work in the Lagos Island axis. On my way into the office, I would smile and say hello to each person.
Things are not the same anymore. Now, I sometimes have to sneak into my office. No more name tags, no more opulent attire that would indicate me as a banker. My identity card and that of my team must be kept away safely. I smile scarcely, and brisk footsteps replaced my elegant walks through the banking hall/doors. I have to ensure my team members, the bank properties and myself were all safe.
We were warned to dress down and not to hang our identity cards and name tags, “People are angry and would be ready to lynch you if they discovered that you are a bank staff,” – the HR and security team warned, and this I resounded into the ears of my team members to ensure they kept a low profile staying safe all the way.
Despite the precautions, we still face danger and must exercise extreme caution when moving about. “Now, once it is 5 p.m., everybody is expected to leave the office. You no longer dress impeccably and do the shakara that comes with working in a bank. Since we could be attacked at any time, we now take every precaution to hide the fact that we work in a bank,” as a team lead, I had an extra burden of ensuring that my team members were always safe.
I tried to ensure I had a cordial relationship with the goons in the area, not taking that for granted, I still admonished everyone to walk about with eyes behind their backs, even the janitors that worked with in the branch had to be extra cautious.
I am surly not the only one of the thousands of bank employees whose lives have recently been in danger as a result of the frustration Nigerians experience when trying to get cash from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and from bank tellers in person.
Recall that on October 26, 2022, Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), announced the apex bank’s intention to redesign and issue new N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
Therefore, before the deadline of January 31, 2023, Nigerians who possess cash in any of these denominations must return it to their banks.
Two days before the deadline, the apex bank extended the deadline by 10 days and assured that there were enough notes to serve Nigerians. But the situation appears to contradict the apex bank’s assurances. Long queues persist, and point-of-sale (POS) operators now charge up to 20 per cent of any withdrawn amounts. At first, only the new notes were difficult to find, but now even the old notes are in short supply.
Many Nigerians protested the ongoing shortage on the streets of Nigeria’s major cities and, on some occasions, attacked bank employees because the banks are unable to give them cash. As crowds of people waited to lynch some of my colleagues at the gates of their various bank branches, they are seen in some social media videos scaling fences to leave after business hours to ensure their lives are safe.
A few loved ones kept in touch to be sure I was safe and unharmed and I immensely appreciate them for that.
I have gathered a lot of experience and lessons in the past weeks which will not be leaving me anytime soon.
WHAT IS THE CHANCE THAT ….?