CBN Defends Arabic Inscriptions on Naira Notes, Refuses Removal

The Central Bank of Nigeria has defended the Arabic inscriptions on Nigeria’s currencies against a lawsuit seeking its removal

The apex bank argued that the Ajami (Arabic) inscription is not a symbol of Islam or its mark but an inscription to aid non-English speakers who are literate in the use of Ajami for trade.

However, Chief Malcom Omirhobo, the lawyer that dragged the apex bank to court, argued that an Arabic inscription on the nation’s currency has naturally portrayed and branded Nigeria as an Islamic nation, against its constitutional status of a secular state.

Omirhobo further stated that the action of the apex bank violates section 10 and 55 of Nigeria’s constitution.

Section 10 reads: “The government of the Federation or of a state shall not adopt any religion as state religion.”

Therefore, Omirhobo prayed that the court compelled the central bank from “further approving, printing and issuing naira notes with Arabic inscriptions, bearing in mind that Nigeria is a secular state.”

The Lagos based lawyer also prayed that the court mandates the central bank to replace the Ajami inscriptions with either English language or any of the nation’s three official languages, Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo.

Abiola Lawal, counsel to the apex bank, in a counter-affidavit, argued that “the Ajami inscriptions on some of the country’s currencies do not connote any religious statements or Arabian alignment.”

Lawal insisted that the Ajami inscriptions were not a threat to Nigeria’s unity or secular status.

He said: “The inscriptions on the country’s currencies do not and at no time have they threatened the secular statehood of the nation or have they violated the Constitution of Nigeria, as every design and inscription was finalised with the approval of the relevant government bodies.”

Lawal stated that “Ajami inscriptions” on the naira notes dates back to the colonial era “and they do not imply that Arabic is an official language in Nigeria.”

Quoting CBN, he said, “The naira notes retained the inscriptions with Ajami since 1973 when the name of the Nigerian currency was changed to naira from pounds.

“The Ajami was inscribed on the country’s currency by the colonialists to aid those without Western education in certain parts of the country, who, back then, constituted a larger part of the populace.

“The Ajami is not a symbol or mark of Islam but an inscription to aid the populace uneducated in Western education in ease of trade.”

Finally, Lawal said the removal of Arabic inscriptions “would cost the tax-paying Nigerians and the Federal Government colossal sum of money to discard the existing naira notes and print new ones in satisfaction of the plaintiff.”