As voters await their turns to make choices on who to occupy the presidential seat of power in the nation for the next four years, smart entrepreneurs who sell food, drinks and water made brisk money in addition to casting of votes.
Cueing up under the hot sun to cast votes provided opportunities for others to make money as hunger  and  taste sets in.
A food saler at lwofe, Mrs Chidinma Obialor told The Tide that the election has created opportunity for her to make money from her business.
Mrs. Obialor said people left their houses very early to take numbers at the polling unit and have no alternatives than to patronise her business to avoid fainting.
“No matter how scarce cash is, food is a priority for any human being who wants to continue living. I know l will make a lot of sales today, so l prepared for it”, she said.
She also noted that water sells more than food, as those who do not have enough money to eat buy water to hold themselves till they are done voting.
Another entrepreneur, Mrs Ozioma Uchendu, who sells the local zobo drink and water, said her efforts to prepare the zobo drink in addition to water paid off, adding that, “standing on a cue for a long time makes one’s throat to dry up and that is where l am needed.
“I have not seen this number of crowd since l started coming out here to vote. This year’s election pulled crowd but it is unfortunate that the BVAS in our station, Apaogodo Rumuepirikon, Unit 006, Rumueme (7A) refused to work till 1 pm.
She noted that more than 680 voters were disenfranchised, as the officials shot down by 7pm when the crowd have not voted.
Uchendu noted that her being there since morning would have been so painful but for the money she made in selling her drinks, “which is my consolation for spending the whole day here”.
She reiterated the need for Nigeria to grow up, adding that the citizens were thinking that INEC will get it right this time around but, “it is the same old story, no single change in the process instead it is worse.
Another voter, who pleaded anonymity said the process is nothing but betrayal of trust.
“Nigerians want to continue the suffering, if not, there would have been a firm decision by all not to be used to pervert the process. I wonder what will ever make me to come out from my house again to participate in the voting process”, he said.

By: Lilian Peters

Some traders in various markets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have reduced the prices of their goods for customers paying with cash to enable them to make sales.
The traders who spoke with The Tide’s source  in Abuja, in some markets in the FCT, complained that their inability to get cash with which to purchase goods to stock their shops made them to decide to give discounts to customers buying their goods with cash.
They appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make concerted efforts to address the lingering cash crunch to prevent a total collapse of economic activities.
A meat seller at Lugbe Market, Mr Innocent Agu, told The Tide’s source that he decided to give discount to those buying goods from him with cash as he needs money to buy cows.
Agu said although a kilo of meat was sold for N3,000, he could afford to sell the same volume of meat for N2, 800 “because it is not easy to get money from the bank.
“However, for those buying meat by transferring money to my account, I sell at N3,500 per kilo as I have to pay some charges to the Point of Sale (POS) operator who will give me the money.
“I prefer collecting cash because those selling cows in the bush do not have bank accounts. So we take our money there to buy from them”, he explained.
Malam Adamu Abubakar, a trader who sells rice and beans at Lugbe market, said a measure of beans sells for N750 “but if I see a customer who has cash, I can sell for N600.
“It is difficult to get cash and for that reason, l do not transact business using bank transfer.
“So for those paying with cash, I am ready to reduce the price so that I can sell the commodity before it gets spoilt”, he said.
Another trader at the Garki Market, Malam Ahmed Aliyu, who sells tomatoes, said a small basket of tomatoes goes for between N1,000 to N1,200.
He added that if he were to get somebody willing to pay cash, he could sell the same basket of tomatoes for N800.
Aliyu said tomatoes are perishable goods and could not be kept for a long time, hence he was ready to reduce the price in order to prevent or at least minimise losses.
“I would rather reduce the price at which I sell tomatoes than allow them to go bad”,  he said.
Another trader, a vegetables seller at the Garki Market, Mrs Oluchi Ogbonna, said she sells the commodity cheaply because they could not be kept for long.
Ogbonna said before now, she sold a wrap of pumpkin leaves (Ugu) for N200, but now sells the same wrap for N150 or N100 to be able to go back to the market and restock her stall.
“I cannot collect money by transfer of N200. So I sell cheaply so that people can buy them quickly as they are perishable goods”, she said.
Another trader, Mrs Titilayo Olufemi, who deals on  clothing materials at Wuse Market, said since the cash scarcity began, she had not made any sales.
Olufemi said nobody wanted to buy clothes as what everyone is after is how to feed themselves and their families.

There have been business boom for Point of Sale (PoS) operators in Port Harcourt following the financial crisis warranted by the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
An operator, who pleaded anonymity, said the current cash crunch  brought life into some POS businesses that were hardly able to generate income on a daily basis before now.
He said now, operators charge fees ranging from 10 to 30 per cent, hence their bank accounts are experiencing  boom seasons.
“We thank God. It is just our time. As you know, every business has its own time to flourish.
“When we started this business, we could hardly see people the way we are seeing them now. However, we were just surviving like that. But now, sometimes you even hide or switch off your phone because you cannot guarantee that you will serve people with what they are looking for – the cash”, he said with a smile.
Speaking about the improvement of the business over the past few weeks, he said all he could do was thank God for the blessings despite the challenges of getting the money to give to people.
PoS operators say their businesses  had improved due to the high demand for cash, especially the new naira notes,  despite the general misgivings arising from the uncertainties surrounding the policy.
In one of the markets, a PoS operator said she buys naira from the big supermarkets at a very high rate, adding that “N100,000, new notes could attract #20,000 or #30,000 cash as the case may be”.
Another Operator, Mr. like Adindu, admitted that the business, which was becoming popular and growing by the day in the state, especially among youths, had seen rapid growth in the last few weeks as they have become the most sought-after by people who need their services.
The minimum being charged by these operators starts from N200 for every N1,000 to as high as N2,000 for every N10,000.
But another PoS operator,  Chidi Okorie, said he could not afford to charge less than N200 per transaction as that is what will cover the troubles gone through to get the money for the people.
“I won’t lie, I charge N200 for every N1,000 because I go through a lot to get it. If it is that easy, then let everyone go and get it.

By: Lilian Peters