There was no way the ATMs could dispense cash, having been vandalised by the youths in the area.
Affiong Etim, a woman in her 70s, was among the aged people seated on the tiled floor in the ATM gallery at the First Bank in Oron, Oron Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, on a Monday morning, in March 2023.
They were hoping to make withdrawals for the first time since 17 February, after the only commercial banks in the area had been vandalised during a protest over the nationwide naira scarcity.
On sighting this reporter walked into the gallery, Mrs Etim, aided by her walking stick, struggled to stand up.
"My son, please help me," she muttered to the reporter whom she thought was a worker in the bank. "I want to withdraw money, will the machines pay today?"
The time was 10:05 a.m. The woman said she had been at the bank since 5 a.m.
About 15 of the bank customers, whom this newspaper learnt had been in the gallery since 5 a.m., were seen taking a nap - seated on the floor, with their back resting on the wall - while waiting hopelessly for ATMs which were not dispensing cash.
There was no way the machines could dispense cash, having been vandalised by the youths in the area.
Oron is a coastal community. The residents are mainly fishers, farmers and traders. They relied so much on the three banks - First Bank, Access Bank, and United Bank for Africa (UBA) - for their financial transactions.
Besides, people from the neighbouring local government areas of Mbo, Okobo, Urue-Offong Uruko, and Udung Uko also depended on the three banks for their transactions.
When the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reversed its restriction on currency circulation and Nigerians were beginning to get naira notes, residents of Oron and the other local government areas were still at the mercy of POS operators who were selling naira notes at unbelievable rates.
The residents alternatively resorted to traveling from Oron to Eket, about 37 minutes' drive, for their bank transactions. Sometimes, they traveled as far as Uyo, the state capital, for it.
UBA, the most vandalised among the three banks, was deserted when our reporter visited in March.
Pieces of broken glasses littered the bank premises, with charred remains of window frames serving as a grotesque reminder of the attacks.
At First Bank, seven out of the eight ATMs were destroyed while the premises of Access Bank looked like a war zone, with several big holes on the glass building. There were pieces of shattered glasses everywhere.
Keystone Bank and Ecobank had left Oron over two years ago but their abandoned properties were also vandalised by the protesters, Emmanuel Antai, a journalist in the area, told our reporter.
All the banks in Oron are along Oron Road, except UBA which is at Anwana Esin Road
Tales of suffering
A customer with First Bank, Mary Etim said she travelled to Eket or Uyo - spending N2, 000 transport fare for each trip - to resolve failed POS transactions which was her only means of getting money then, before the CBN relaxed its restriction on naira circulation.
Over 500 customers were seen inside the First Bank premises in Oron, standing in different cues, sweating it out to resolve many transaction failures.
UBA customers were the worst off - they had to make regular trips to Eket for their transactions as the bank was yet to resume operation due to the devastating damage to its building and the ATMs.
Outside the First bank parameter fence, POS agents were seen displaying wads of cash. They were selling N1,000 note at 10 per cent.
One of the POS agents who gave his name as Anthony said, at the peak of the cash crunch, they used to "buy" naira in the local market at 25 per cent and sell at between 35 and 40 per cent.
He said they bought the cash from fishers in the area to sell to their customers.
Fishers, Mr Anthony said, do not accept transfer. So the fishers got lots of cash payment and became the custodian of cash as people came from different regions in the country to buy fish and crayfish.
"At that time we bought money in the market at N25, 000 for N100, 000 and sold between N3, 500 and N4, 000 for N10, 000," he said.
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The Secretary of Oron Local Government Area, Victor Joe told PREMIUM TIMES that the suffering was too much.
He said about 20 suspects were being prosecuted by the state government over the destruction of the banks in Oron.
"It was too much for us. We were buying money. A lot of our people were going to Uyo and Eket to get money. Two banks (First Bank and Access Bank) have resumed, except the UBA that was seriously damaged."
In a move to reduce the sufferings of the people, the Senate, through a motion sponsored by Akon Eyakenyi, a senator from the area, passed a resolution on 29 March calling on the CBN to get the commercial banks in Oron to resume operations in the area.
Mrs Eyakenyi, who is the deputy governor-elect of Akwa Ibom State, told her colleagues (senators) that the protests by the Oron residents against naira scarcity was hijacked by hoodlums who attacked bank officials and destroyed property.
PREMIUM TIMES visited Oron five days after the Senate's resolution.
Our reporter observed that First Bank and Access bank had resumed business without fixing most of the destroyed property while UBA was yet to resume.
