Chaos

Nigeria's government stands accused of causing economic chaos with a botched plan to tackle the country's vast informal economy. The idea was to bring cash ...

It largely failed to reduce the amount of cash circulating outside the banking system or discourage corruption. However, three state governors from Buhari’s own party said their regions were “on the verge of anarchy” and went to court to try to force the federal government to suspend the cash swap plan. Just 35% of women and 47% of men have a bank account, according to the country’s statistics agency. That move led to cash shortages, long lines at banks and post offices and a slowdown in economic activity as farmers trekked for miles to exchange their old banknotes. He said the country’s digital payment systems would ultimately be able to handle the surge in electronic transactions. The central bank suspended charges on cash deposits at banks and directed lenders to open their branches on Saturdays to encourage people to turn in their old notes. He accused some politicians of mopping up the new notes and storing them “for political purposes” and said some Nigerians were hoarding the redesigned bills, causing long queues at ATMs. As the cash crisis spread, he blamed the “selfishness and greed” of the country’s banks and called for more time to resolve the crisis. Recalling 2.7 trillion naira using the country’s under-developed banking network was always going to be a challenge when it wasn’t clear how much old cash citizens were likely to turn in, and where. Nigeria has just 4.5 bank branches for every 100,000 people, one of the lowest ratios in the world. The idea was to bring cash circulating under the radar into the regular banking system by compelling citizens to swap their old money for newly designed naira bills. Announcing the currency move in October, bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said it would help to rein in runaway inflation.

But amid a shortage of the new currency, Nigerian banks are enforcing daily maximum withdrawal limits of between 5,000 and 20,000 naira (about $6.50 to $27 ...

Since seizing power, the juntas in all three countries have struggled to deal with [escalating attacks](https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/12/15/violence-sahel-burkina-faso/) by jihadis and armed groups. Clerics from Oromia and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region [accused](https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/02/08/zambia-south-africa-anglo-american-mining-court-lawsuit/) the main church of ethnic discrimination and a lack of inclusivity. [heavy fighting](https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/rest-of-africa/elders-want-somalia-to-manage-las-anod-4114788). [reentry](https://www.africanews.com/2023/02/10/west-africa-junta-regimes-seek-reentry-to-regional-blocs/?utm_source=news.google.com&utm_campaign=feeds_news&utm_medium=referral) to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union after being suspended for military coups. As Andrew DeCort [wrote](https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/18/ethiopia-pentecostal-evangelical-abiy-ahmed-christian-nationalism/) in Foreign Policy last June, a form of Christian nationalism is growing across Ethiopia, particularly “in Oromia and the southern regions of Ethiopia, where many have felt oppressed and impoverished by Ethiopia’s Orthodox empire.” [scrutinized](https://leadership.ng/much-ado-about-opinion-polls/) by Nigerians. Staged power cuts of up to [eight hours a day](https://apnews.com/article/africa-economy-south-cyril-ramaphosa-a838348aec7e4b4012979f9a33bc1dec) have significantly damaged South Africa’s economy. However, Nigeria’s central bank has [refused](https://saharareporters.com/2023/02/14/nigerian-central-bank-disregards-supreme-court-order-says-old-naira-notes-no-more-legal) to acknowledge the court order. Their candidate did not win the primaries,” el-Rufai [told](https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/579211-elements-in-presidential-villa-wants-tinubu-to-lose-election-el-rufai.html) Channels TV. 25, Nigerians are having to wait in hours-long lines for money and fuel amid an acute cash and [gasoline shortage](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/2/shortages-causing-fury-among-nigerians-ahead-of-elections) in a country that was once Africa’s [largest producer](https://www.african-markets.com/en/news/west-africa/nigeria/nigeria-maintains-position-as-africa-s-third-largest-crude-oil-producer-for-october-2022) of petroleum. It said it would [limit](https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/12/19/cash-withdrawal-limits-and-cbns-drive-to-enforce-cashless-policy/) ATM withdrawal amounts to promote a cashless society. [warned](https://punchng.com/naira-crisis-may-disrupt-polls-inec-warns-emefiele-nsa/) that fuel and cash scarcity could disrupt payment of logistics staff and transportation of materials needed for polling.

The Lufthansa Group is facing delays and cancelations across its network. The reason for the interrupted operations is an IT failure affecting the entire ...

The airline group is seeing an IT failure that is reportedly impacting the airline's flight planning system. Speaking to Simple Flying, a [Frankfurt Airport](https://simpleflying.com/tag/frankfurt-airport/) spokesperson confirmed that the airport is closed to arrivals. The Lufthansa Group is not having the start to Wednesday that it had hoped. [United Airlines](https://simpleflying.com/tag/united-airlines/) flight that had started to divert but has since turned back towards Frankfurt. [Boeing 747](https://simpleflying.com/tag/boeing-747/) is among a handful of aircraft making a 180-degree turn away from the airport. [Lufthansa](https://simpleflying.com/tag/lufthansa/)'s dominance of Frankfurt Airport, the issues are also beginning to affect other carriers.

Cable damage at a Frankfurt construction site caused chaos at Lufthansa on Wednesday. Computer systems failed and there were delays and cancellations for ...

In addition to the public service, there are local negotiations for ground services and a nationwide round of collective bargaining for aviation security./ceb/DP/jha The Munich Security Conference is working to be able to guarantee travel for conference participants. According to Deutsche Bahn, a contracted construction company cut the cable in the process. Air traffic control closed Frankfurt to landings to prevent the hub from filling up with aircraft. According to the company, the problems were triggered by construction work on an S-Bahn line in Frankfurt. At gate A16, a Lufthansa employee reached for the microphone: "We have a problem."

The incident began, the airline said, after construction workers accidentally drilled through fiber optic cables near Frankfurt, Germany. This caused "an outage ...

The airline's domestic flights were all canceled and passengers were asked to switch to trains. In Frankfurt, Germany's largest airport, the airline's ...

All passenger flights were canceled or delayed due to a strike by airport workers. Further air travel disruptions are expected at the end of the week as a wage strike has been announced for Friday, Feb. In Frankfurt, Germany's largest airport, the airline's departures were all temporarily halted. Around 15,000 internet users were without a connection, including the North Rhine-Westphalia state government. "We are continuing to work at full speed on the repair," Deutsche Telekom said on Wednesday via Twitter. According to the company, the outage was triggered by damage to fiber optic cables caused by construction work on a railroad line in Frankfurt.

Shares in Lufthansa, which also owns SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, were down 1.2% at 0936 GMT.