The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has been called upon to
retain the Arabic inscription on the redesigned naira notes.
Recall that the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele announced the
redesigning of N100, N200, N500, and N1000 notes.
Emefiele said the redesigned naira notes would be released
on December 5, 2022.
Following this announcement, the apex bank was asked by some
Nigerians to expunge Arabic inscription from the new naira notes, stressing
that it’s not Nigeria’s official language.
But, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) said Arabic
inscription, also known as Ajami, should be retained on all naira
denominations, stressing that the removal would provoke Muslims and cause
division within the country.
Amid these controversies, a former CBN Governor, Muhammadu
Sanusi had said the apex bank would not remove the Arabic inscription from the
new naira notes.
Also speaking on the matter, the Arewa Youth Consultative
Forum, AYCF, said the Arabic inscription should be retained in the spirit of
brotherhood.
AYCF National President, Yerima Shettima said that most
Northerners couldn’t read the English language, hence Ajami should be retained
in the new naira denominations.
Shettima described those calling for Ajami to be expunged as
religious bigots.
He said: “Most of our people in the North understand Arabic,
so for us to move together and in the spirit of brotherhood, it’s not a bad
idea to allow the inscription.
“Most of the people advocating for the removal of the
inscription are ethnic bigots that create a story where there is no need for
such.
“Over time, this inscription has been there and does not in
any way imply an Islamization agenda; it’s just a figure, and I don’t know why
this issue is coming up now.
“I don’t think it’s part of the government’s policy, but
biased-minded people are thinking in that light. In the spirit of oneness and
brotherhood, the inscription should remain.
“Personally, I have no problem because I can read, write,
and understand any figure on the naira but most people in the Northern part of
the country have issues understanding the other side of the naira. In the North,
we have people who only understand Islamic knowledge, so to carry them along
and make them feel they belong to the society, our forefathers initiated that.
“It was not initiated by a Muslim government but by a
Nigerian Government from the onset.”
On his part, an Abuja-based public affairs commentator, Deji
Adeyanju, however, wondered about the correlation between Nigeria and Arab that
would warrant Arabic language on the country’s legal tender.
He said it would have been preferable that Nigerian language
was inscribed on the naira instead of Arabic.
Adeyanju also noted that having Arabic inscription on the
naira was not an issue.
He said: “I don’t think the debate around the Arabic
inscription on the naira notes is a big deal because English is also a
language.
“However, it would have been preferable if it was a Nigerian
language that is on the naira instead of Arabic, because what is the
correlation between Nigeria and Arab? Is Nigeria an Arab nation?
“I don’t understand the correlation between our legal tender
and Arabic inscription, but it should not be a big thing that people begin to
give religious connotations because it’s just a language after all.
“I think CBN should be looking towards having our local
language on our legal tender,” Adeyanju said.
Removing Arabic language on the face of our currency it will not add or reduce anything, I think we should think or talk about, is the value of naira compare to other currency.
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