Want to know the year Nigeria started using Naira and Kobo?
As most people already know, Nigeria didn’t exist until 1914 when the northern and southern protectorates where amalgamated.
Prior to the colonization, people used beads, cowries, pieces of jewellery, pearls, amongst others as currencies. In fact, precolonial civilizations in Nigeria also used the trade by barter system of exchange.
However, after the amalgamation, Nigeria began using Pounds and Pence. During that time, it was also the currency of other Great Britain’s West African colonies.
Then, the highest banknote denomination was one pound, while the highest coin denomination was 1 Shilling.
After the independence in 1960, the Nigerian government saw the need to adopt its own currency — the naira and kobo — which is still being used to date.
Read also: Where are naira notes printed and who prints them?
Now, I’m sure you have an idea on when Nigeria started using naira and kobo. But now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty so you’ll know exactly when Nigeria adopted its current national currency.
The year Nigeria started using Naira and Kobo
Nigeria began using Naira as its official currency on 1 January 1973, thus, dumping the £sd currency system in favour of the decimal currency system.
From that moment, the major unit of currency which used to be £1 ceased to exist. And as of then, 2 naira was equivalent to 1 pound.
Right now, the naira, which has the symbol ₦, and code NGN is the currency of Nigeria. The kobo is the smaller unit of the Nigerian currency (100 kobo make 1 naira).
In the 1970s, 50 kobo, 1, 5, 10 and 20 naira were the only banknotes in circulation.
And as for coins, there were ½, 1, 5, 10 and 25 kobo in circulation.
Although, some of the currencies were introduced on separate dates.
For instance, the 20 naira note, which was the biggest currency as of then, was first issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria on 11th February 1977.
Since then, the Nigerian currency has gone through a lot of changes. The current highest denomination is the 1000 naira note, which bears the images of Alhaji Aliyu Mai-Bornu and Dr Clement Isong, both former governors of the CBN.
Not just the one thousand naira note; other banknotes and coins that preceded its release carried the faces of prominent people who have played huge roles in the history of Nigeria.