Like everyone else, Joel Abiodun queued for cash at the gate of one of Nigeria’s top-tier banks for eight hours, while Mercy Uzordike spent five hours waiting at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM).
In a bid to beat the queues, Abiodun and Uzordike arrived there before 5 am but it was to no avail. Shortly after 12pm, Abiodun was told “no more cash for withdrawal” by a bank official, while the ATM stopped dispensing cash when Uzordike was just a few metres away from the machine.