(PERSONAL ESSAY) LAGOS, Nigeria — It was approximately 12:40 p.m. Nigerian time, Feb. 4, and three weeks ahead of the presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria. Our connecting flight WB 203 from South Africa to Kigali in Rwanda landed at Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

The adage “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” began to unfold, as the first thing that my daughter and I did when we set our feet in Nigeria was to pray and command the land of Nigeria to release its blessings and to favor us. We have learned this from the Nigerians who visit our country.

We were further prompted by Joshua 1:3, which says, “Everywhere the sole of your foot shall tread, you shall possess the land,” and Isaiah 1:19, which says, “If you are willing and obedient you shall eat the good of the land.”

We further asked God for divine protection upon our lives and that our 21-day spiritual retreat should not be in vain. Immediately after we closed the prayer, a stout Nigerian man sitting in front of us at the airport turned around and gently uttered, “Ma’am, I may not know what you were praying about, but may the Lord answer all your prayers.”

At about 3 p.m., our host drove us in a private “kabu kabu” (Nigerian street lingo for a taxi) to the Prayer City in the rural town of Ibafo, Ogun State for our long-awaited three weeks spiritual retreat.

As we traveled along the streets of Lagos, the economic capital city of Nigeria, our host immediately informed us that the country had been facing a shortage of the naira currency for the past few weeks. It is understood that the country’s inflation rate is standing at 25%, resulting in scarcity of the naira due to political clashes as well as the persistence of superiority and inferiority among Nigerians. The government is also phasing out the old naira notes, such as the ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000, and replacing them with new notes.

As the bleak picture of Nigeria was painted to us, I was not anxious but encouraged by my daily prayer, “God, let me not be at the right place at the wrong time. But Lord even if I am, please suspend the rules for my sake as you did for Queen Esther in the Bible.”

Furthermore, a few days prior to leaving our home country, South Africa, in preparation for this special trip, my bank card was activated for foreign transactions, specifically with U.S. dollars. Therefore, I innocently responded, “I don’t have cash, but all my transactions will be done through my bank card.”

My host persisted to warn me, “You need cash mama. Cash. Naira.” They “don’t even trust the U.S. dollars,” so I was told. Furthermore, the shops, restaurants, hotels, street hawkers and “keke” taxis (“tuk tuk” tricycle taxis) prefer cash on hand. “You can’t pay them through a bank card,” our host said.

This warning became real on our arrival at the Prayer City chalets’ reception. I swiped my bank card. Twice, it declined to process payment. This is despite the successful foreign transaction activation made by my bank and sufficient funds in my account.

Consequences of false advice

It was as if I faced what we call in development economics a “false paradigm.” A few days before leaving my home country, every stop I took at a bank around my place of residence as well as at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, I felt I was wrongly advised by the forex department to not carry cash on hand for safety precautions. They, however, did not perceive the current naira scarcity saga that has affected millions of Nigerians — Christians, churches, nonbelievers, the rich and the poor.

I must profess that the financial institutions in South Africa were only cautioning me based on their continuous experience and the advice they give to other Nigerian travelers. One piece of advice that might have been relevant was to activate a bank app to enable me to make transactions in case I experienced challenges paying with my card. But due to hacking that I experienced on my emails, phones and electronic devices recently, I have never felt comfortable using a bank app on my phone.

Cash was the only answer — Naira, alone

It was apparent that either our long-term plan for a spiritual retreat in Nigeria was going to be cut short or we would have to return home before we could connect with the Almighty in Nigeria. We were told that this is a land that has embraced the word of God from when it obtained its liberation in 1960.

Unlike most African countries that rejected the Bible and Christianity under the pretext that it was forced on them by British Colonialists, Nigeria is said to have embraced it. Most Nigerians do not believe that God is only for the Europeans but for everyone and that Christ died for us all.

By Feb. 24, the population of Nigeria was close to 220 million. This is based on the Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. Some research shows that approximately 49.3% of the Nigerian population professes Christianity.

Despite this small percentage, the country seems to have strong Christian roots and faith in God. The deployment of Nigerian missionaries and the planting of churches in different parts of the world have attracted Christians from different parts of the world — including the U.S., U.K., Italy, Benin, Congo, Cameroon — to Nigeria. This is also supported by testimonies and miracles shared by Christians on different media platforms, including print, radio, TV and social media.

Therefore, they travel from their home countries to spend quiet time in prayer, seeking Godly solutions for all the different problems that they are facing in life. This is also evident at the immigration offices at the airport, as each staffer that we came across kept asking, “Are you going for a church program?” Although the percentage of Christianity is not high compared to South Africa, which is 90% Christian, Nigeria might be considered a hub for Christianity and biblical signs and wonders.

Naira shortage affecting the stay of foreign guests

The host explained that due to the scarcity of the naira, some of the guests from other parts of the world, who came to our church’s Prayer City had to cut their trip short and return to their home countries. The only advice he gave to us was to pray for God’s intervention. Indeed, God is the only solution to the current naira mayhem.

These godly words of encouragement are echoed by a chain message that was sent by an individual on one of our church’s WhatsApp group chats. The message sought to give seven guidelines on how to overcome the naira scarcity. Its opening said, “Let us enlighten ourselves on how to survive this current situation in Nigeria.”

It went on to give hope to the reader in the first guideline, “Don’t take it personally, it’s a general problem affecting everybody.” In summary, it gave the advice to protect your dignity amid the naira scourge, halt major projects until the saga has ended, prioritize necessities and reduce meat intake, protect your health by avoiding shocking news, and spend more time in prayer and serving God. It further advised the reader not to forsake God or commit suicide but to get closer to Him in the midst of it all.

The world in God’s hands: Bank transfers come to the rescue

Three hours was enough time for the Holy Spirit to show His power. The passage of 1 Chronicles 29:11 came true, which says “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the Kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all.”

God came through for us: I was able to sell my South African notes in exchange for the naira to a family that was traveling on the same flights as us from South Africa, Rwanda to Nigeria. Part of the money was given to me in hand and the rest through bank transfers to the restaurant where we were constantly dining at. But it was not sufficient to last us for our long stay in Nigeria. It also did not allow us to make cash payments for transportation outside the Prayer City and other necessities.

Nigerian government encourages speed point and bank transfers to enable payments

As my daughter and I walked from shop to shop in our church’s Prayer City, we were greeted by a sign on the windows: “Dear Customers, if your bank card declines, it is an issue you need to consult with your bank.”

Speed points and bank transfers have been noted by the Nigerian government as a solution to enable payments. Bank transfers are done through individuals or stores providing their bank account numbers to customers for payments, while the speed points allow you to swipe your bank card on the go. But the issue with speed points is the network interference as well as bank card declines. The data network is not very strong in Nigeria, resulting in unsuccessful transactions and sometimes card declines.

Even though speed points, also known as point of sale machines, are a solution, they are an expensive mobile technology. In South Africa, they cost approximately R3,900 ( $211.52), excluding monthly bank charges, while in Nigeria, according to different reports, they cost ₦50,000 to ₦150,000 ($108.59 to $329.44).

So, what about services that do not have this costly mobile technology?

Money withdrawal as a solution to the shortage of naira

Outside the Prayer City and across Nigeria, there are point of sale centers that enable people to withdraw money or exchange their currencies for the naira. The shortage of the naira has even resulted in street vendors finding the POS service as a new business opportunity. It is as if everyone has become a bank vault in Nigeria. This is because bank vaults have run out of cash. The cost of withdrawal from vendors, however, exceeds that of the bank vaults. I am reminded of a man who lamented during our church service that he had transferred ₦15,000 to the POS agents’ account and was charged a service fee of ₦5,000, leaving the man with ₦10,000.

God takes control

Back to the effect of the Naira on us during our trip. As my bank card struggle continued and communications with my bank did not yield good results, one of the major Nigerian banks advised that the solution was to either open a new bank account in Nigeria — but that could only be possible if I had a permanent visa — or obtain assistance from a Nigerian account holder for my daily transactions. Those who could help complained about the bank charges and the shortage of the naira. Realizing that no solution was coming our way, I knelt in our chalet and prayed for God’s intervention.

God touched the hearts of two fellow veteran journalists whom I did not talk to about this financial predicament. Without knowing what was happening, they blessed us financially. Furthermore, a Nigerian diplomat in South Africa whom I had informed about the situation and who banks with one of the Nigerian banks also rescued the situation. Therefore, my payments for accommodation and food were made through bank transfers and receipt of our first naira notes from the South African notes that I exchanged.

We were very excited and looking forward to having enough naira notes on hand that everybody was crying and praying for. This is the naira that has caused many to have sleepless nights.

Having the naira on hand, we believed it meant that the woes were gone, only to later experience confusion about the old naira notes’ replacements. Almost every day we entered the stores to purchase food with the old ₦200, ₦500, or ₦1,000, we would be turned back and informed the banks no longer accept these notes. They require new notes. This is despite the fact that we would have receive the old notes from the same stores a few hours before the announcement about such changes. The whole situation made me feel that everyone was being difficult to us. But testimonies shared during the Sunday services made me realize that we had mutual experiences with the rest of the country.

Background about Prayer City

Fast forward to our spiritual retreat. In my imagination, I anticipated a mountain and simple chalets for resting after prayer. But this is a city, a home and a land for ordinary people and the rich. Children are born here and grow up here. There is a clinic for different illnesses, antenatal care for pregnant women, schools, a university with students’ accommodation, a mall, restaurants, banks and beautiful houses. It is a city with services and facilities such as keke taxis to transport commuters to different places. It is clear that the church is contributing to the country’s gross domestic product, curbing poverty by alleviating unemployment in the country. Almost every Sunday and at weekly events, there are announcements for job vacancies, for lecturers, teachers, supermarket cashiers, chalet housekeepers, drivers and security guards. Some of the Christians travel as far as 12 hours away from their states to Prayer City for employment.

There are different programs taking place in the city. In the morning, during the day and at night, one spirit’s is uplifted by the sounds of Christians praying, worshipping and praising the Lord.

In the morning hours, we proceed to our prayer program sessions. Things were done differently from the churches in my country. The church does not only value people’s spiritual lives and souls but their health, education and skills. The church has deployed nurses and doctors at the place of prayer to examine whether participants are medically fit to partake in the prayer programs.

But on the eve of the elections and on election day, Feb. 25, one could only reminisce about the sounds of worship and preaching as the country shut down for voting. Similarly, to the COVID-19 lockdown, there was no movement in the country. This meant shutting down churches and businesses and grounding flights. I was at the point of jetting off to South Africa, but our flight couldn’t take off due to the national elections.

Vicky Abraham is an investigative journalist based in South Africa and has reported for the Mail & Guardian, City Press, Assist News, the Nation newspaper in Nigeria and Nation Media Group in Kenya.

Nigerian Elections Halt Flights: An Adventure Filled with Faith and Financial Woes