again, there was another surprise.
what it was was that
because the IBB Administration / Government was generally perceived to be a responsive government that
as a principal and core policy of it’s own administrative style
responded to the heart beat and wishes of the people
every one thought that it was only a matter of time
.. small time ..
.. few months only ..
before IBB would move among the people and
hear and see what was going on for himself and by himself
and then bring back the ONE NAIRA NOTE even if with a design and colour change.
to everyone’s surprise,
it didn’t happen.
it never happened.
right uptil the time IBB “stepped aside” and/or was “pulled out” in 1993.
the ONE NAIRA NOTE never came back.
the FIFTY NAIRA NOTE never came back.
the newly introduced ONE NAIRA COIN disappeared from use and circulation.
the newly introduced FIFTY KOBO COIN disappeared from use and circulation.
and
the ONE NAIRA Currency Unit and the FIFTY KOBO Currency Unit
BOTH DIS-APPEARED from PHYSICAL USE and PHYSICAL CIRCULATION in Nigeria.
naturally, Nigeria residents tried to adapt to this new emerging reality and development.
and so, because the ONE NAIRA and FIFTY KOBO were no longer available
nothing was sold for ONE NAIRA or FIFTY KOBO anymore as there would be no change to give a buyer who for instance comes with a FIVE NAIRA or TEN NAIRA NOTE. ( .. more so as the NIGERIA TEN KOBO COIN and FIVE KOBO COIN seemed to have disappeared as well .. )
and so
instead of selling one item for ONE NAIRA
sellers would sell five for FIVE NAIRA
or two for FIVE NAIRA
and so the NIGERIA FIVE NAIRA NOTE became
the smallest physically usable unit of the NIGERIA CURRENCY
and has remained so from that time till date 2020 i.e for ( 2020 – 1991 ) = 29 years.
economists, finance experts and business administrators, etc sometimes use terms like INFLATION to describe this happenstance that took place / has taken place in Nigeria.
inflation can be explained in simple language as a situation where i.e in which there is an increase in the costs/prices/cost-prices of goods and services.
for the purposes of illustration and explanation of the use of the terminology “INFLATION” in this Nigeria instance,
it means that
by resulting, for example,
in a situation where
an item became TWO for FIVE NAIRA
instead of ONE for ONE NAIRA that it was previously
or
an item became FIVE for FIVE NAIRA
instead of ONE for ONE NAIRA that it was previously
such that FIVE NAIRA is now the minimum amount i.e the least amount that anyone inside Nigeria can physically spend to buy anything in Nigeria instead of ONE NAIRA and/or FIFTY KOBO previously
this happenstance had introduced
█ INFLATION in Nigeria and in the Nigeria Economy
█ INCREASE IN THE PRICES/COSTS/COST-PRICES of goods and services in Nigeria and in the Nigeria Economy
and also introduced at the same time and in the same stroke,
( to use the language of economists, finance experts,etc )
INLATIONARY TRENDS and INFLATIONARY PRESSURES in Nigeria and in the Nigeria Economy.
looking at all of this retrospectively,
and with the benefit of hind-sight,
it is not difficult to see and understand why
Nigeria residents are saying that and have been saying since then ( i.e since 1991 i.e since 29 years ago )
that
a] they want their ONE NAIRA NOTE BACK
b] they want their FIFTY KOBO NOTE BACK
c] they want the ONE NAIRA CURRENCY UNIT back in physical use and physical circulation
d] they want the FIFTY KOBO CURRENCY UNIT back in physical use and physical circulation
e] they want
the TWENTY-FIVE KOBO CURRENCY UNIT,
the TEN KOBO CURRENCY UNIT,
the FIVE KOBO CURRENCY UNIT and
the ONE KOBO CURRENCY UNIT
all back in physical use and physical circulation.
f] very importantly too, the NIGERIA ADMINISTRATION should
revert the strength of the NAIRA BACK to
either
the GENERAL JACK YAKUBU GOWON REGIME VALUES ( circa 1973 ) of
1:00 NIGERIA NAIRA = 2:00 BRITAIN/UNITED KINGDOM POUNDS
or
the GENERAL OLUSEGUN OKIOKIOLA OBASANJO REGIME VALUES ( circa 1979 ) of
0:75 NIGERIA NAIRA = 1:00 BRITAIN/UNITED KINGDOM POUNDS
0:60 NIGERIA NAIRA = 1:00 U.S.A/UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DOLLARS.
maybe in future, NIGERIA will get a ruler / leader / president who listens to
the heart-beat and views of the people
the way IBB used to do sometimes
and
this leader will listen in regards to
THE ONE NAIRA NOTE,etc and THE STRENGTH OF THE NAIRA
and
bring back the ONE NAIRA NOTE, etc
and also revert the STRENGTH of the NAIRA back to
0:75 NIGERIA NAIRA = 1:00 BRITAIN/UNITED KINGDOM POUNDS
0:60 NIGERIA NAIRA = 1:00 U.S.A/UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DOLLARS
who knows ………
only time and the future will tell ………