Government Can Create 5 Million Jobs If They Stop Banks From Selling Airtime

Senior Special Assistant to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe has said that government can create five million more jobs for Nigerians if they stop banks from selling recharge cards.

Doyin in a tweet on Tuesday said allowing these banks to sell airtime to their customers will only increase the rate of unemployment in the country as small scale retailers under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs will be out of business.

According to him the entire recharge cards transactions for a day in Nigeria is worth about N10 billion which is enough to provide jobs for five million Nigerians.

He said “Banks should not be in the retail business where they strangulate small individual traders, government must protect MSMEs.

“Government still has the responsibility to protect the weak in the society against the strong and mighty.

“Secondly the banking licence does not cover Retail business. Any society that is not regulated is close to a jungle which is undesirable”.

And advice that seem to play down the development of Technology that is currently rulling today’s world.

With banks as airtime vendors a good number of Nigerians don’t have to go too far to purchase airtime from street vendors as they stay in the comfort of the homes and still get to top up airtime whenever they have the need to.

Also following the Central Bank of Nigeria policy on a cashless society this is one way to help reduce the the amount of money people have to keep at home for daily expenses.

Addressing this, Doyin said, “We are a developing nation, we must encourage technologies that does not marginalize the weak amongst us.

“Technology is also available to make young people sell air time via telephones and internet. You don’t need to hawk on d road. But in rural communities direct sales still effective”.