On this day, 62 years ago, Nigeria got her independence from the defunct British Empire. The country did not however adopt a new currency until 1973. On the 1st of January 1973, the British pound was officially changed to the Naira as Nigerian currency at an exchange rate of £1 to N2. 

Nigerian naira was very strong at the time that it was ranked ahead of the U.S Dollar. To buy one dollar in 1973, you needed just 65 kobo. Between 1973 to 1985, the Naira was so strong that you never needed up to a naira to buy a dollar. 

In fact, in 1980, all you needed to buy a dollar was just 55 kobo. 

However, in 1986, as a twist of fate, Nigeria found itself in a perilous situation. The economy started declining after the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida requested a bailout from multilateral financial institutions. 

The International Monetary  (IMF) was Babangida’s point of call. However, like a devil, IMF would not give him something without taking something in return. IMF gave him a Second Tier Foreign Exchange Market (SFEM) as part of the reform that Nigeria must undertake. 

As a military desperado who was looking for a bailout and international acceptance, Babangida obliged to the conditions. 

SFEM, thereafter, served as Nigeria’s second official foreign exchange market which was opened to both Nigerians and foreigners. 

Before SFEM, it was the sole duty of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fix the exchange rate. The CBN at the time was meticulous in its job by restricting importation and implementing closely monitored foreign exchange control. These had helped the naira to trade fairly strongly against the dollar in the 1970s and early 1980s. 

It was popularly believed that IMF was not comfortable with the CBN’s oversight over the foreign exchange. 

By and large, by the end of 1986, the dollar had risen against the naira by more than 100%. In 1987, you will need N4 to buy $1. In 1989, it was N7.39 kobo to $1. By the time General Ibrahim Babangida left power in 1993, the naira had dramatically stumbled against the dollar, exchanging at N17 to $1. 

The Naira decline did not stop with the exit of General Ibrahim Babangida. By the time he left the Aso Rock, Nigeria’s economy was already in shambles. His exit which people hoped will bring some relief only brought more hardship as General Sanni Abacha overthrew the interim government of Chief Earnest Shonekan.

Abacha’s regime was characterised by widespread embezzlement of public funds in dollars. There was corruption in almost all facets of the economy. From government offices to banking institutions. Little wonder the country still receives some of his oversea stash funds to date. 

General Sanni Abacha closely monitored the CBN and ensured the dollar was majorly made available to himself and his friends. The CBN introduced the Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market in 1985 to closely monitor the movement of dollars. The thirst for importation drastically reduced which made the official rate of naira to dollar stand around N22 to $1 for five years which Abacha used in power before his death.

However, the commercial banks picked a flaw to exploit AFEM. Since the CBN’s AFEM requires all commercial banks to request dollars from the CBN, bankers came up with what was known as ‘blended’ rate. 

For instance, if an importer requests $2 million from its bank, the bank will inflate the figure to $5 million knowing full well that CBN will likely not approve the full request. If CBN approves $3 million, the bank thereafter will pay their client and take the remaining $1 million to the black market where they can make more profit from dollar arbitrage. 

At this time, the black market otherwise known as the parallel market was booming and striving hard. Many banks made fortunes from this dollar arbitrage. 

In 1999, when Nigeria returned to democracy, the Olusegun Obasanjo regime met naira to dollar exchange at N22 but by the time he left in 2007, you will need N125 to buy $1. The fall of naira has since then continued till date. 

At the close of the market on Friday 30th of September 2022, $1 was sold for N432 at the Importers and Exporters Window (I&E) while $1 was sold for N737 on the black market. 

It would be recalled that the present administration met dollar to naira exchange at the rate of N197 to $1. 

Investors King had earlier reported that naira has lost more than 100% of its value since the beginning of this administration. Little wonder it was ranked 11th worst performing currency in the world and 3rd worst performing currency in Africa. 

The Nigerian Naira depreciated to N737 against the United States Dollar at the parallel market, popularly known as the black market, on Thursday following the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) decision to lift the ban on campaign activity.

Checks by Investors King showed that persistent dollar demand by politicians amid scarcity are two main factors impacting the exchange rate on the black market.

The President, Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, disclosed that elections, loss of confidence, and the force of demand and supply are what is driving the market at the moment. 

“It is a market where demand and supply determine the price. Do not forget that election years are associated with foreign exchange volatility”, he noted. 

A parallel market operator our correspondent spoke to in Abuja on Thursday evening quoted Naira at N737 to a dollar. This was different from what was quoted in the morning. The dollar was sold for N735 in the morning of the same day. 

Abba Muhammed said he would buy dollars at the rate of N733 and sell at N737. It could be recalled that the dollar was sold at N728 on Wednesday. 

Investors King understands that dollar was traded at N707 to a dollar at the beginning of September. This represents a difference of N30 (4.2 percent). 

On the other hand, the dollar to naira exchange was significantly stable at the Importer and Exporter (I&E) Window at N430 to one dollar. 

It is widely believed that political activities leading to the next year’s elections will further decrease the value of the naira against the dollar. Analysts opined that politicians will scramble to stack dollars ahead of the 2023 elections. 

The electoral commission has fixed the 26th of February and 11th of March for the 2023 general elections. 

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s forex reserves barely stood above $39 billion on Thursday which was a drop of about

The Naira to Dollar exchange rate remained under pressure as of Wednesday, September 14, 2022, amid Nigeria’s persistent foreign exchange scarcity.

The Nigerian Naira exchanged at N707 to a United States Dollar on the black market, a N2 decline from N705 it traded on Tuesday.

At the Investors & Exporters (I&E) forex window, the Naira opened at N434.75 against the United States Dollar on Tuesday before shedding 0.11% to N436.04. Currency traders at the window (I&E) traded $83.71 million worth of currency on Tuesday.

At the Central Bank of Nigeria‘s (CBN) managed interbank forex section, the Naira was sold at N428.81 to a U.S Dollar on Tuesday. The Pounds Sterling – Naira exchange rate was  N502.9512 while the Euro traded at N436.4857.

Crude Oil

Oil prices traded lower on Wednesday as uncertainty surrounding interest rates continues to dictate demands for the commodity.

The brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, dipped to $92.83 a barrel while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 0.37% to $86.99 a barrel.

On Tuesday, U.S. data showed the inflation rate rose to 8.3% in the month of August, a strong indication that inflation pressures remain stubborn in the world’s largest economy. This coupled with European Central Bank’s comments that it will continue to raise interest rates to curb rising prices weighed on oil prices on Wednesday.

Energy investors have started lowering the outlook projections, saying rising prices would impact demand for the commodity as global economic growth slowdown.

Cryptocurrency

Like every other asset, cryptocurrency extended its decline on Wednesday ahead of Ethereum merge and transition from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake.

Bitcoin, the world’s most dominant cryptocurrency lost 3.25% to N14.65 million, or $20,250.25 per coin. While Eth, the token of the Ethereum protocol appreciated by 0.41% to N1.131 million or $1,597 a coin.

Earlier this week, cryptocurrency appreciated across the board. However, the reports that there is an arrest warrant against Do Kwon, the co-founder of the now defunct stablecoin issuer Terraform Labs, from the financial crimes unit of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office of South Korea weighed on the cryptocurrency outlook.