The Kobo and Naira coin series issued between 1991 and 1993 represent a significant era in Nigeria’s economic history. These coins, now largely out of circulation, once played a vital role in daily commerce and offer a fascinating insight into the country’s rich cultural and economic symbols.

Denominations and Design

The coin set featured the following denominations:
1 Kobo
10 Kobo
25 Kobo
50 Kobo
1 Naira

Each coin was designed to reflect Nigeria’s national identity, featuring notable figures, agricultural symbols, and industrial elements.

1 Kobo

Smallest denomination.

Featured ears of corn, symbolizing Nigeria’s agricultural roots.

10 Kobo

Featured oil palms, a nod to one of the country’s major cash crops.

25 Kobo

Showed groundnuts, once a key export commodity of Northern Nigeria.

50 Kobo

Displayed an oil derrick, representing the petroleum industry which has been central to Nigeria’s economy.

1 Naira

Featured the portrait of Herbert Macaulay, a pioneer Nigerian nationalist and key figure in the country’s path to independence.

Historical Context

The Naira (₦) and Kobo (₦1 = 100 Kobo) were introduced on January 1, 1973, replacing the Nigerian Pound in a major currency decimalization initiative. This made Nigeria the first African country to adopt a decimal currency system, marking a shift from colonial-era monetary practices.

The 1991–1993 coin series was a continuation of efforts to modernize Nigeria’s currency with updated designs and more durable materials.

Circulation and Decline

At their peak, these coins were widely used for everyday transactions, particularly for small purchases in markets, transportation, and shops. However, due to persistent inflation, many of these coins—especially the 1 Kobo and 10 Kobo—lost their purchasing power and gradually disappeared from use.

Today, most of these denominations are no longer accepted in commercial transactions. The 1 Kobo coin is now virtually extinct in circulation and exists primarily as a collector’s item or historical artifact.

Legacy and Collectible Value

While no longer functional in modern commerce, the 1991–1993 coin series remains an important symbol of Nigeria’s economic evolution. For collectors, historians, and educators, these coins offer a tangible way to explore Nigeria’s post-independence financial heritage and the changing face of its economy.

These coins are not just currency—they’re time capsules, preserving stories of Nigeria’s industries, agricultural wealth, and nationalist pride.

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US President Donald Trump has ordered the firing of the country’s commissioner of labor statistics, Erika McEntarfer, after the Labor Department reported weak hiring last month and revisions showed a quarter-million fewer hirings in the prior two months.

Trump said he ordered the immediate firing of Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, asserting the July report misrepresents what he claims is a “booming” economy powered by his policies.

The US added 73,000 nonfarm jobs in July, the Labor Department reported early Friday, down by about a third from economists’ expectations. More importantly, gains for the prior two months were revised lower by a combined 258,000 jobs.

Revisions to the employment report are routine, but the BLS said the revisions for May and June were “larger than normal.”

McEntarfer, a labor economist, was nominated by former President Joe Biden in July 2023 and confirmed by the Senate as commissioner of labor statistics in January 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. She previously served as a senior economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisors, where she advised on the recovery from Covid-19.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a Trump appointee, said on her social media site that she supported the “President’s decision to replace Biden’s Commissioner.” She said during the search for a replacement, Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski will serve as acting commissioner.

“Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate; they can’t be manipulated for political purposes,” Trump said, without providing evidence the data was manipulated. “McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months.”

Trump added: “The Economy is BOOMING under “TRUMP” despite a Fed that also plays games, this time with Interest Rates, where they lowered them twice, and substantially, just before the Presidential Election,” late last year, Trump said, renewing his attacks on Fed chair Jerome Powell, who has repeatedly ignored Trump’s calls for him to lower rates. The Fed this week held its target rate unchanged for a fifth time this year, saying it needed to assess the impacts of tariffs and other Trump policies.

“Too Late” Powell should also be put “out to pasture,” Trump said.

Powell’s term in office expires in May next year and he can only be fired from the independent body for cause.

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Nigerians have expressed divergent views over the incessant loans taken by the federal government, which has bloated the country’s external debts.

It was reports that the Senate recently approved President Bola Tinubu’s external borrowing plan of over $21 billion for the 2025–2026 fiscal cycle, paving the way for the full implementation of the 2025 Appropriation Act.

The comprehensive borrowing package includes $21.19bn, in direct foreign loans, €4bn, ¥15bn, a $65m grant and domestic borrowing through government bonds, totaling approximately N757bn.

Nigeria’s total public debt climbed to N144.67 trillion ($94.23 billion) as of December 31, 2024, reflecting a significant increase of 48.58% compared to N97.34 trillion ($108.23 billion) recorded at the end of December 2023.

This latest figure was disclosed by the Debt Management Office (DMO) in its report on the country’s public debt profile.

The report also indicated a quarter-on-quarter rise of 1.65% from the N142.32 trillion ($88.89 billion) recorded at the end of September 2024, highlighting the continued increase in the nation’s debt burden within the final quarter of the year.

Reacting, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, lamented what he described as the reckless borrowing by this regime without accountability.

“As our GDP before rebasing was about N269.2 trillion (about $180 billion), the government has borrowed the equivalent of nearly 70% of our previous GDP. 7.Even after the rebasing, which pushed our GDP to about N372.8 trillion (about $243.7 billion), the government would have borrowed about 50.16% of the new GDP (with the approved 8.loans), the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in our history as a nation,” he said.

Similarly, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, condemned the Tinubu administration over what it called fiscal vandalism, saying the president is borrowing far more than his predecessor, Late Muhammadu Buhari, and placing Nigeria on the edge of a financial disaster.

The newly formed opposition coalition said President Tinubu’s government has borrowed more in two years than Buhari did in eight, warning that the country’s total debt could hit ₦200 trillion before the end of 2025.

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is deeply concerned by the Tinubu administration’s dangerous obsession with borrowing. What Nigerians are witnessing, following the approval of a fresh $21 billion in foreign loans, is nothing short of a calculated decision to mortgage the country’s future just to cover up the failures of today,” it said.

However, a financial expert and the Chief Executive Officer of SD & D Capital Management, Gbolade Idakolo, said it was not a bad idea for the government to take additional loan if it would be of immense benefit to the infrastructure development and to deepen the country’s economic aspiration.

He, however, decried that sometimes the loans that were taken by previous administrations were not directly applied to what could bring return for the repayment of those loans, adding that when a project is executed at very exorbitant cost, it does not have the means to be able to repay itself based on the way it was applied.

Idakolo expressed the belief that the National Assembly must have done a thorough review of the usage of the additional loan and the viability of the projects to repay the loan.

The financial expert urged the current administration not to tow the path of its predecessors that put infrastructure development at the expense of the government looking for revenue to repay loans.

“I am not against the government taking additional loans if it is going to be of immense benefit to infrastructure development and to be able to deepen our economic aspirations.

“For us to be viable economically, we need to improve on infrastructure development. And we have seen the way loans have gone in the past.

“We are seeing that sometimes the loans that were taken by previous administrations were not directly applied to what can bring return for the repayment of the loan.

“So even when those projects are executed at very exorbitant cost, it does not have the means to be able to repay itself based on the way it was applied.

“So presently, this government that has been taking loans, especially this recent one, I believe that the National Assembly should have done a thorough review of the usage of the loan and the viability of the projects that the facility is going to be for, and the capacity of that facility to be able to repay the loan.

“What can actually help Nigeria is for us to do targeted projects that can improve our infrastructure development to complement our economic aspirations.

“And when that is done, this project should be able to have the capacity to repay the loan.

“So if this administration goes the way of the previous ones that put infrastructure development at the expense of the government also looking for revenue to repay those loans because those projects cannot repay itself, then we will be back to square one,” he said.

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