The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has applauded the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its recent ban on spraying money at parties.
Speaking recently on the ban, CBN spokesman, Isaac Okoroafor, said anyone caught spraying faces a fine of N50,000 or six months imprisonment.
In a press statementย signed by the director of the human rights organisation, Prof. Ishaq Akintola on Tuesday, MURICย described the ban as long overdue, adding that law enforcement agencies should enforce the order in the interest of the coming generation.
Akintola added, โWe hail CBN for the ban on spraying at parties. It is a nauseating practice. Ours is a culture of waste. We are so materialistic today that we have forsaken our core values. We worship money even in the house of God. Those who spray money at parties are cutting their noses to spite their faces. They are inducing greed and encouraging crime.
โWhat do you expect when people who have not taken any meal throughout the day watch you spraying money so recklessly as if you are throwing ordinary pieces of paper? You may attract armed robbers to yourself as you spray money at parties. Hoodlums may surround you or trail you when you leave. The CBN ban on spraying is therefore capable of reducing crime in society.
โApart from that, we live in a country where the average person lives on less than $1 per day. Per capita income is less than $300. More than 80% Nigerians live below poverty level. The average worker lives from hand to mouth while majority of Nigerian students manage to survive on one meal per day. It is either 1 โ 0 โ 0ย orย 0 โ 0 โ 1.โ
The group however disagreed with CBN on the N50,000 fine across the board as punishment forย defaulters, saying the fine should be based on the amount sprayed and the currency involved.
โA man who sprays only ten N100 notes cannot be compared with another who sprayed two hundred N1,000 notes. Neither can we compare someone who sprayed foreign currency with one who sprayed naira. What is N50,000 fine to someone who sprayed close to one million naira? The fine should be proportionate to the amount sprayed.
โBut that is if there is going to be any fine at all. In a worst case scenario, we would have loved a situation whereby government scraps the fine and opts for imprisonment without any option of fine for anyone who sprays money at parties. The length of jail terms may depend on the amount sprayed and the currency used. It should be a non-bailable offence. Nigerians fear to go to jail but they do not mind paying fines. This is why we advocate the scraping of fines for spraying money at parties.โ
MURIC also called for punishment for those selling brand new naira notes adding that they are the ones who aid and abet spraying at parties.
โThe police should be empowered to seize such money and return it to government treasury.โ
