The Nigerian Naira is the official currency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Its currency code is NGN, and it is managed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Here are the seven most important facts about the NGN:
Fact #1: The name Naira was invented by Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo. He was a Nigerian nationalist, as well as a strong and influential advocate of independence and federalism.
Fact #2: One Naira is divided into 100 kobos. Interestingly enough, today, you will only find a coin of 50 kobos in circulation. As of February 2007, the CNB stated that the 1⁄2 to 25 kobo coins were withdrawn from circulation.
Fact #3: Another fun fact is that the syllable “Nai” is synonymous with the name of the country – Nigeria. Young Nigerians sometimes call Nigeria “Naija”. So, we can easily assume how Chief Awolowo came up with the name “Naira”. He probably just took the name of Nigeria and shortened it to Naira.
Fact #4: Naira are issued in the form of coins – there are 1 Naira and 2 Naira coins. There are also banknotes that are presented as the 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 notes.
Fact #5: There was a plan to introduce a new Naira in 2008. It would have had the value of 100 old Naira. However, the it was never introduced.
Fact #6: The NGN has been continuously devaluing since its inception in 1973. As of 2019, Naira’s inflation rate remains above 10%.
Fact #7: The Central Bank of Nigeria issued a new commemorative note in 2018 to celebrate the centennial of Nigeria’s existence. The banknote has a quick-response code (QRC) that redirects the user to a website about Nigeria’s history when scanned.
Final Thoughts
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