Adedeji Olowe

There’s been growing tension between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks over the lingering cash scarcity, with accusations of mismanagement and even conspiracy flying around. Banks on the other hand, are dragging CBN for the shortage.

Things came to a head when the CBN threatened to penalize any bank caught mishandling the Naira a whopping ₦150 million. Enough cheddar to build a small estate in Iragbiji in Ondo State.

The cash crisis created long queues at banks and ATMs. Then if and when it’s your turn to get cash, you’re limited to just N5,000 – N10,000. I mean, what can you even do with such an amount?

Naturally, there’s a lot of frustration about the situation. Nigerians want the CBN to hang someone on the cross for this even though Jesus reportedly died for our sins 2000 years ago.

Now, while the issues are very real, I think the CBN is fighting a battle it simply can’t win and would only get its nose bloodied in the process. Why? Because it’s fighting a shadow!

But before I explain, let me tell you a little story.

Telecoms already taught us a little about scarcity 

Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane; back to Nigeria’s telecom sector about 25 years ago.

Back then, telephone lines were even scarcer than Naira notes today. There were only  400,000 phone lines for a country with over 100 million people.

Getting connected wasn’t just a matter of walking into a store or clicking a few buttons online like we do today. You needed personal connections and a bit of luck to be able to secure a NITEL line then. And even for those who were successful, the service was very expensive. The Minister of Communications at one time, Tajudeen Olanrewaju, once quipped that “the telephone wasn’t for the poor”.

But then GSM came along and completely changed the game. It revolutionized the market, made the old way of doing things obsolete, and made phone lines accessible to everyone, including my dog.

Scarcity isn’t a new or foreign phenomenon. But we have to do things differently to get out of the rut we’re in.

The real problem isn’t cash; it’s payments

Scarcity always creates arbitrage opportunities and people will naturally find ways to profit from limited resources, whether it’s forex, cash, or anything else in short supply. We see it happen all the time.

Take super-agents, for example. We can’t deny that they’ve played a pivotal role in taking financial services to the next level but they’re charging premiums to provide access to cash. Is it wrong? Definitely. But is it surprising? Absolutely not. They’re simply responding to the systemic gaps by filling a need the system itself hasn’t addressed. 

Meanwhile, according to the popular Yoruba proverb, the CBN is out here carrying an elephant on its head while trying to catch a cricket with its toes. It’s dangerous and they could trip on some Nigerian banana peel.

Instead of fixing the real issue by addressing the root cause of payment challenges, the CBN is focused on the wrong battle; cracking down on banks and super agents, threatening them with fines, and blaming inefficiencies at the branch level. It’s a futile effort and a big distraction.

And even if the CBN somehow “wins,” it’s a pyrrhic victory. The root problems would remain untouched, and the cash scarcity chaos would continue.

Why?

Because people aren’t hoarding cash for the fun of it!

They’re not chopping it up to cook jollof rice so they could drag Ghana on Twitter (AKA X)—they need it to buy food, pay for their commute, or settle small daily transactions. Cash is just a medium. 

The real question is why are people going through so much stress looking for cash just to make payments when there are alternative methods? That’s what needs to be addressed.

The truth is, electronic payments simply aren’t a viable alternative for many Nigerians right now. Transaction speeds are too slow to support real-time payments. Imagine waiting one to two minutes for a transfer to be complete while trying to pay the woman selling plantain in a busy market, where you still have 49 other customers lined up behind you. Trust me, someone is going to swear for your fada if you don’t get out of the way. Nigerians can be an angry lot!

It’s impractical, and for a system that needs to scale, this kind of delay is a dealbreaker.

Fraud protection is another major issue. Victims of fraudulent transactions often find themselves stranded, with little to no recourse. Even when banks report fraud cases to each other, it rarely yields the desired results. This lack of accountability has bred widespread distrust in the system and people are understandably hesitant to fully embrace electronic payments. While the CBN has commenced enforcements on some fintechs of recent; it’s late, too targeted, and not comprehensive enough to fight fraud.

Then there’s the cost. For low-value transactions, the fees just don’t match. Paying ₦10 in transfer charges for transactions as small as ₦50 – ₦100 to pay for pure water or a wrap of garri is neither sustainable nor reasonable. So, cash remains the cheaper and more practical option for many Nigerians, despite the challenges associated with accessing it.

Here’s how the CBN can resolve the cash crisis for good

Right now, the CBN seems to have enough energy to pull off what’s needed, especially with Cardi B at the helm.

First, they need to focus on transaction speed. Think about how speed changed the game in photography. Once we had fast-loading photos, it opened the door for videos. The same applies to payments. Faster transactions can unlock new opportunities and drive adoption. After all, faster transactions is how Opay became the largest digital bank in Nigeria.

The CBN should set national transaction speed standards, starting with a 15-second benchmark in the first year and then tightening it to 5 seconds within three years. They could even tie incentives to transaction speeds. Bankers love incentives. Or, if that doesn’t work, CBN could do what usually works in Nigeria and apply some  pressure and threaten banks to invest in the infrastructure needed to achieve this.

Next, CBN needs to seriously deal with the fraud issues for everyday Nigerians. It’s time to fix the system. They should implement a centralized fraud reporting platform—not the one NIBSS supposedly has that nobody uses—but something easily accessible to fintechs and Nigerians. Banks should also be mandated to refund fraud victims unless they can prove they followed proper KYC protocols. And to make things faster, they should create an effective inter-bank communication process to handle fraud cases swiftly. This is so critical because fraudsters are raping the digital payments space to death and only a few things are being done about it.

The CBN should also reduce costs for small transactions. Transactions below ₦10,000 should be free. The sector can afford it. It’s easy to propose this though; after all, it’s not my revenue that would fund it 🤣.

Here’s why it’s worth the effort  

This approach has significant long-term benefits. For starters, locked funds stay within the banking ecosystem, improving transparency. Banks would no longer need to ask people funny questions about money movements because they’d have a clearer view of the velocity of money.

Moving payments online also reduces the need for physical cash, cutting down costs related to printing, transporting, and securing money. That frees up funds for building better digital payment infrastructure.

Most importantly, it builds trust in the financial system. When transactions are fast, secure, and reliable, people are more likely to embrace banking and other financial services fully, instead of hoarding cash or relying on informal networks. 

And with better visibility into money flows, the CBN can make smarter policies instead of fighting shadows. 

The CBN needs to make big changes for big impact 

Super agents who are currently benefiting from cash scarcity and arbitrage might feel the pinch at first, but they won’t be left out of the game. As digital transfers gain traction, there’s a real opportunity for them to pivot and earn through legitimate transaction fees and expanded services.

In fact, the CBN has already laid some groundwork with its recent Circular on Cash-Out Limits for Agent Banking Transactions. It’s a step in the right direction but it’s not enough. To make this work, they’ll need to double down on reforms and strengthen the system.

First, they need to address the BVN gaps and protect people. The CBN should mandate periodic revalidation of BVNs, say, every 5 years, to keep records accurate and deactivate outdated or fraudulent accounts. It’s also a chance to show the bank tellers that I’m now a silver fox 🌚. To make this convenient, Nigerians should be allowed to revalidate their BVNs at any bank, not just their own bank/branch. This ensures broader compliance without adding unnecessary wahala.

Second, they need to collaborate better with banks. The CBN needs to set clear goals and timelines for infrastructure upgrades, ensuring banks prioritize transaction speed and security. Smaller banks, in particular, may require technical and financial support to meet these standards, and the CBN should be able to coordinate something for them. The Nigerian tech ecosystem is more than capable of helping banks scale with infrastructure.

Away from the banks, the public also needs to be adequately engaged. Awareness campaigns to emphasize the benefits of digital transactions, especially in comparison to the cost of withdrawing cash, will be critical. They also need to address fears about fraud via digital channels to build confidence in the system and drive adoption.

This is what the CBN needs to do to turn the current challenges into long-term gains and to create a payment system that’s faster, safer, and allows super agents to thrive without exploiting scarcity.

This is the version of the fight the CBN actually has a real chance of winning—and this time, without getting its nose bloodied.

One of my employees recently resigned without giving notice; She worked at Lendsqr for 18 months before serving me breakfast. She was fantastic in her first year with us but struggled terribly in her last six months. 

She just woke up one day and left. 

It was so sudden and I was livid! It felt like liquid rage was coursing through my veins. Luckily, common sense prevailed if not I could have ended up with a stroke 🤣.

But then, I kept thinking about her. This employee was genuinely excellent. So, what went wrong? 

I was extremely upset and disappointed and in that state, my mind immediately reached for the Gen Zs and millennials are lazy narrative:“Young people today aren’t serious!” “They’re entitled!” “Something must be wrong with them!”  In my time …

… and that’s when a Yoruba saying hit me: “Àgbà búra bí èwé ò bá ṣe é rí”—elder, swear if you were never young (and a little foolish). It stopped me in my tracks. There was nothing different “in my time”. I was young once and I was foolish. Very foolish.

Big-ups to those who survived the storm that was my youth

I’ve worked in financial services since chicken had teeth and I have a decent enough reputation. Everybody knows I keep my word. If I make you a promise, you can take it to the bank. It’s not motivated by some noble ideal; I’m just too proud and allergic to getting sh*t from anyone to imagine that I could give a promise and not keep it. 

I’m very dedicated to my work and when I started out in banking this paid off. It took me only six and a half years to move from entry level to a senior manager even though I didn’t have a godfather paving the way for me. This was no small feat. I know my stuff and people know that I do but the truth is, this wasn’t always the case and even when it appeared like this, it wasn’t the full story. 

There’s another side to me that most people don’t know.

I started out as an NYSC intern in Standard Trust bank and I gave them hell—I was unruly, disrespectful, and even appeared before the disciplinary committee after which I was given a final warning. Obviously,  I was not retained after my service year ended. I’m sure they were ecstatic to finally be rid of me. I was happy to go as well but I was even happier to leave them with a flaming bag of sh*t to clean up as a parting “gift”. Before I left, I deleted the CSS of the intranet I built when I was leaving. Oops 🙈

I was 24 years old, and it should be clear to you by now that I had no common sense.

This wasn’t the only time I showed myself. I was on a roll for about another decade. Back-to-back hits (well, misses, now that I look back on how terrible I was to others):

While waiting for a proper job after my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year, I got a job working at a cyber cafe. I can’t remember what the last straw for my employer was then but one day he just got so mad and fired me. 

I took this foolishness into my marriage as well. My ex-wife is an amazing woman and I tell this to my kids all the time. I did some really stupid things I’ll forever be sorry for but that’s not for me to write about here. 

Fast forward to my more senior role in SystemSpecs; I was so annoying! But maybe they endured me because I was good at my job. Evidently, I left.

My point is that when I think about this young lady who left me by the side of the road  without the courtesy of giving notice, I remember my own level of wisdom and behavior at her age and I know that placed side by side with her, she’s a saint compared to who I was. 

Brilliance is no reason to be an a**hole, neither is stupidity

Being great at your job doesn’t make up for your being a terrible human being. It’s a hard truth, but some of the people you’ll work with will be downright stupid. Maybe they’ll change, maybe they won’t. But here’s the thing, we’ve all been there. At some point, we were absolute idiots ourselves. Some people (not me) might have even started out good and lost their way; others started out as complete screw-ups (yes, like me) and turned it around.

I’m not a Christian, but there’s truth in that message “let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. If Jesus were a Yoruba man, specifically from Ilesha in Osun state, he probably might have framed that message with a bit more oomph, like the title of this piece. Maybe Jesus needs steez?

Therefore, my dear congregation, let’s be more forgiving to people, especially young people still figuring their sh*t out. There was a time when I couldn’t stand people who left Lendsqr but now, I could even take some of them back (of course, terms and conditions apply; like swearing before Ògún that they would behave themselves). I think people can change, or at least, grow up and become less foolish. 

Despite my discipline, focus, and professionalism today, I’ll admit I was incredibly stupid as a young man—more stupid than most people I know. So yes, I think young people should be given chances to redeem themselves when, not if, but definitely when they mess up

However! Let’s not confuse this with giving people a license to be idiots or take on jobs they’re not prepared for.

To the good people who’ve left Lendsqr, if you can prove that your head is now okay, the door isn’t entirely closed. This message isn’t for all of you though. There are still some people I wouldn’t take back even if God Himself put a gun to my head.

Why? 

Because while youthful stupidity might be temporary, a rotten core is forever. And I’m nobody’s savior.

Organizations don’t succeed because of the little things they do well; but they often fail if they don’t do such things well.. These are the minor hygiene tasks that though doing them well doesn’t necessarily do any good, but not doing them comes with significant repercussions; sometimes existential. Try skipping washing your hands for a week. You’d probably land in the hospital.

When the Bible was talking about the little foxes that spoiled the vine, trust me, it was about these tiny annoying stuff.

This becomes a catch-22 for companies, especially medium to large ones. How could they focus on what’s important without getting lost in tactical processes that don’t guarantee success even if we do them well?

Automation to the rescue!

I remember sending an email to my team a couple of years ago where I said that tactical work done with lack of automation can bring out the worst in the best of the best.

Speaking about myself, everybody knows I have the sh*ttiest, most incredibly stupid memory in the world. Half of the time when I wake up in the morning, I can’t remember my own name. I literally have a document by my bed that reminds me my name is Adedeji 🥹.

However, one of the ways I’ve solved my problem is that I figured out that I could use a digital crutch  to remind me of all my pending tasks. For this, Todoist has been pretty incredible.

This has helped me extremely as I use it to set reminders to check on my siblings, check on some elders who haven’t yet kicked the bucket, reach out to those seniors to me and even reach out to some customers and some of my employees. I know fully well that If I don’t set these reminders, I won’t be able to do these things. 

Basically, without some form of automation, I’d have been messed up.

I also noticed when I started Lendsqr that there are some incredibly great guys working with me, yet I get so upset with them because packets are getting dropped. The funniest thing is that they weren’t dropping the large, extremely important packets, but the much smaller ones like sending reports and checking system performance.  

That was when I told myself, you know what, any organization that doesn’t have a way of automating its tactical stuff will never go anywhere because they would keep dropping the “hygiene” tasks that are not so large but are highly important.

This brought me back to when I was at FCMB (I’ve worked in a million banks) and we implemented this back office automation application called Integrify. I worked on this with some amazing people and I’m always excited when I remember the bank is still using that till today. That was one of the best projects I ever worked on.

I tried to do this with every single bank or institution I ever worked in since that time like UBA and Fidelity Bank, but the cost  was always high, and no one really cared.

But I understood what it meant to be efficient, and so when I started Lendsqr, and saw the same problem, where the best people were getting dinged by customers and sometimes, me for dropping some packets, it just occurred to me that we couldn’t and wouldn’t win if there were no automations, especially for the tactical tasks.

So the question was, how would we do this?

There were a few things we worked on, such as running jobs in the database to send emails and tons of Metabase results, but that wasn’t enough for what I wanted to achieve.

We knew something had to be done.

We kept experimenting until one of us, Frogman, found n8n, an open source automation software, which we deployed and that has been one of the best things we’ve ever done.

n8n is like Zapier, though not as fancy and popular. It’s an open source software that helps you automate tasks, with plugins for almost every kind of task you wish to carry out. Fortunately, some smarty pant drank my Koolaid and joined my team so I nailed the automation initiative to her cross, to bear.

We then went on a tear and automated as many things that could move from the HR process, to Sales, Product Support, and Finance processes – It’s absolutely amazing. 

N8n was so much fun that when Bland AI was launched, we used n8n to automate our introductory calls to our customers. We also used it to remind some of the  loan defaulters at Irorun. Those usually swear for us and then never paid. Nigerian borrowers are something else 😪 

We also use it for Sales to notify my team instantly whenever a non-Nigerian lender signs so we can reach out immediately and engage on WhatsApp.

System Performance

One of the worst things that could happen to a company is having things breaking in the background and no one is aware of this. Not every customer would escalate to the team. You might just come back to realize you’ve been using your own hand to chase customers away.

At Lendsqr, we’ve had our fair share of this, finding out certain things are breaking and sending our customers away without our knowledge. While there are reports that can be sent constantly by team members, there’s just so much the team can report on. This is where n8n comes in again. We have automations that notify us when customers are complaining, when certain system metrics are lower than they should be. We automatically test our systems and report specifically on each of them to prevent stories that touch the heart.

These are just some of the examples of the use cases we have set up.

In summary, n8n is one of the best things we’ve ever done as a company and I’m looking to keep finding better ways to improve organization efficiency and provide the best experience for our customers.