The history of the Naira!
The Nigerian currency has witnessed various changes over the years. Recently, news making rounds on the internet was about the unsatisfactory remarks of Nigerians on the newly redesigned naira notes in denominations of 200, 500and 1000 which was on 23rd November by President Muhammadu Buhari at the state house in Abuja.
We’ll be taking you down memory lane, here’s a historical breakdown of the Nigerian currency from the precolonial era till date:
1. Precolonial Era
During this period, different cultures used a variety of items as a means of exchange. These included cowries, manila, beads, bottles and salt amongst others. Trade by barter would also be another means of exchange in this era, where people paid for what they needed with what they had.
Western nations, chiefly through the slave trade, introduced a huge number of cowries into Africa. It is also believed that Europeans in the 16th century were able to enter African trade markets where they used shells to buy people and goods.
2. 1880-1912
Shillings and Pounds were introduced as a legal tender currency in British West Africa. The units of coins managed by the Bank of England were one shilling, one penny, 1/2 penny and 1/10 penny and were distributed by a private bank, the Bank for British West Africa till 1912.
3. 1912-1968
The first set of banknotes and coins were issued in Nigeria and other West African countries by the West African Currency Board with one Pound and one Shilling coin being the highest banknote and highest coin denomination respectively. In 1959, Nigerian currency banknotes were issued while the former was withdrawn.
In 1962, the currency was changed to reflect the country’s republican status with a new inscription at the top “FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA” from the former “FEDERATION OF NIGERIA”. Due to the misuse of currency banknotes during the civil war, the notes were changed again in 1968.
4. 1973-1978
The name of the Nigerian currency changed in 1973 after the government decided to move from metric to decimal. Therefore, £1 ceased to exist and ₦1 (formerly ten shillings) became the major unit while kobo was also introduced as the minor unit (100 kobo= 1 naira).
In 1977, twenty naira (₦20) was introduced–it happened to be the highest denomination at the time–bearing the image of the former Nigerian head of state, General Murtala Muhammed on the 1st anniversary of his assassination.
It was the first of its kind to bear the portrait of a prominent Nigerian citizen.
5. 1979-1991
₦1, ₦5 and ₦10 were introduced as new currency banknotes, these notes were printed in different colours to facilitate identification. The notes bore the images of three prominent Nigerians, and the engravings at the back of the notes reflected various cultural aspects of the country.
In 1984, the notes were changed again to arrest the prevailing currency trafficking at that time except 50 kobo banknote. In 1991, the 50 kobo and ₦1 were both coined.
6. 1999-2007
₦100, ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000 banknotes were introduced in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005 respectively in response to the country’s expansion in economic activities.
In 2007, ₦20 was changed to a polymer substrate while ₦5, ₦10, ₦50, ₦1 and 50 kobo were reissued in new designs and the ₦2 coin was also introduced.
7. 2009-2014
The ₦5, ₦10 and ₦50 banknotes were also converted to polymer substrate thereby leading to all lower denominations being printed in a polymer substrate.
The Central Bank also issued a ₦50 commemorative banknote to celebrate Nigeria’s 50th anniversary in 2010 and a ₦100 commemorative banknote in 2014 in celebration of 100 years of Nigeria’s existence as a nation after its amalgamation in 1914.
8. 2022
New naira notes have been introduced to replace the current ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000 naira notes which were unveiled by the President on 23rd November 2022. As stated by Godwin Emefiele, the current CBN president, the new notes were redesigned to address issues of currency fraud, inflation, the amount of money in circulation, growing kidnapping and ransom industry.
The former notes will cease to be legal tender on 31st January 2023.
#Traditional is a segment documenting the beauty of indigenous culture. This edition features the history breakdown of the Nigerian currency from the precolonial era till date.
