By Noel Chiagorom
LAGOS — In 1960, with just N100, you could buy a plot of land in central Lagos, pay school fees for a year, and still have enough to furnish your home. Fast forward to 2025, and that same N100 cannot buy a loaf of bread. This is not just inflation. This is economic butchery. Over 65 years, the Nigerian naira has been gutted, mismanaged, and left for dead. Adjusted for inflation and purchasing power, N100 in 1960 is now equivalent to about N1.1 million. What happened? Simple: bad leadership, corruption, and policy failure.
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From Strength to Shambles: The Rise and Fall of the Naira
In the 1960s and early 1970s, Nigeria was proud of its new currency. The naira replaced the pound sterling in 1973 and held its own. Oil flowed. Agriculture thrived. Inflation was modest. The future seemed promising.
Then came the rot.
The Oil Boom and Military Lootocracy
The 1970s oil boom became a curse. Successive military regimes squandered billions. Imports replaced local production. We bought toothpicks from China and fuel from Europe. Corruption, not competence, dictated economic policy. The naira began to bleed.
SAP: The Poison Prescription
Enter the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986. Spearheaded by General Babangida and pushed by the IMF and World Bank, SAP promised reforms but delivered poverty. The naira was devalued overnight. Inflation exploded. Factories shut down. Jobs vanished. The naira lost its dignity. By the 1990s, people trusted the black market more than the Central Bank.
Democracy Without Discipline
When democracy returned in 1999, Nigerians hoped for economic recovery. Instead, we got more lip service and less accountability. Obasanjo brought some reform, but oil dependence remained. Every time oil prices dipped, the naira went into cardiac arrest.
2015–2025: A Decade of Naira Freefall
Under Buhari, the naira entered a dark age. Foreign exchange controls choked the economy. Multiple exchange rates created chaos. By 2020, the naira’s official rate was a joke, with the black market setting the real price. Then came Tinubu. In 2023, his administration floated the naira. It plunged. Inflation surged beyond 30%. Salaries became worthless. Life became unbearable.
The Naira’s Graveyard: Everyday Prices Tell the Story
A bag of rice in 1960? Under N5. Today? Over N70,000.
A plot of land in Lagos in the 1970s? Less than N500. Now? Tens of millions.
University tuition in the 1980s? N90. Now? Hundreds of thousands.
A loaf of bread that once cost 10 kobo now costs over N1,000.
This is not progress. This is economic genocide.
Ordinary Nigerians, Extraordinary Pain
The collapse of the naira has destroyed lives. Savings are worthless. Salaries are a joke. Retirees are destitute. Children go hungry. The middle class is gone. The poor are buried deeper. Nigerians now beg for dollars, run to cryptocurrency, or flee the country. This is the brutal price of failed governance.
Can This Currency Be Resurrected?
Maybe. But only if we stop the bleeding:
Diversify beyond oil — aggressively.
Cut government waste and corruption.
Invest in local production.
Enforce consistent, transparent policies.
It’s not enough to reform. We need radical honesty and political will. The naira’s death is not natural. It was murdered by decades of greed and incompetence. If we don’t act, what’s left of its value — and our dignity — will soon be beyond saving.