₦airaland Forum

How Babangida's Mismanagement Crushed the Naira

In August 1985, when Ibrahim Babangida took over government by overthrowing Muhammadu Buhari, $1 = N0.89 (official rate) and N1.70 at the black market. By the time he left in 1993, $1 = N17.30 (official) and N21.90 in the black market. He was still behind the scene and installed the Interim Government headed by Ernest Shonekon.

Fast forward to 2025, the exchange rate is $1 = N1,500, while the Saudi Riyal has remained relatively stable at 3.75 SAR = $1, just a minor shift from 3.64 SAR = $1 in 1985.

While the Saudi economy whose mainstay is crude oil maintained stability, Nigeria plunged into currency freefall under policies like SAP (Structural Adjustment Program), which devalued the naira and fueled economic hardship.

How did we get to this point where political leaders gather to celebrate certain people who laid terrible human rights records and excruciating economic policies that brought us to where we are today?

Ibrahim Babangida’s mismanagement did not just crash the naira—it systematically crippled Nigeria’s economic foundation for generations. His policies were not only short-sighted but also deliberately structured to favor a select elite while condemning millions to poverty.

1. The SAP Disaster: A Death Sentence for the Naira

Babangida’s Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), imposed under IMF and World Bank directives, was the most catastrophic economic experiment in Nigeria’s history. It devalued the naira overnight, destroyed local industries, and flooded the market with cheap imports, wiping out indigenous manufacturers. The so-called “liberalization” of the economy meant that foreign businesses thrived while local enterprises collapsed.

2. Institutionalized Corruption: Looting Becomes the Norm[/color]

Under Babangida, corruption was no longer an act of defiance—it became state policy. He perfected the art of settlement politics, where public funds were freely used to buy loyalty. He weakened institutions like the judiciary and electoral system, ensuring that corrupt officials remained in power while honest Nigerians were silenced. The billions stolen under his watch set a precedent for the looting culture that continues today.

3. The $12.4 Billion Gulf War Oil Windfall Disappearance

In 1991, Nigeria earned a staggering $12.4 billion from crude oil sales due to the Gulf War. Instead of investing it in infrastructure, education, or economic development, Babangida and his cronies looted the funds. Till today, no proper accounting of the money has been given. That stolen wealth could have built the refineries Nigeria still lacks, provided stable electricity, and modernized the economy.

4. Military Cronyism: Destroying Meritocracy

Babangida’s regime was defined by ethnic favoritism and military cronyism. He surrounded himself with loyalists, not technocrats, and handed out government positions based on personal loyalty rather than competence. This entrenched a system where mediocrity thrived, while capable minds were sidelined, a culture that still plagues Nigeria’s public sector today.

5. Political Instability: Laying the Groundwork for Crisis

The political instability Babangida engineered, including the annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections, plunged Nigeria into chaos. By canceling the freest and fairest election in Nigerian history, he set the country back decades, ensuring that credible democracy remained elusive. The consequences of his actions still haunt Nigeria’s political system, as rigging, voter suppression, and electoral violence became normalized.

6. Import Dependency: Killing Local Industry

By recklessly opening Nigeria’s economy to foreign goods, Babangida killed domestic production. Nigeria went from being a country that exported agricultural and manufactured goods to one that depended entirely on imports for even basic necessities. Decades later, the country still suffers from this dependence, with food inflation and foreign exchange crises now a permanent fixture.

7. A Legacy of Hardship and Poverty

From 1985 to 1993, Babangida’s policies pushed millions into poverty, destroying the middle class. The devaluation of the naira meant that salaries lost their value, inflation skyrocketed, and basic commodities became unaffordable. Today, that economic mismanagement still haunts Nigerians, with a naira that has collapsed to N1,500 per dollar and an economy that remains fragile, debt-ridden, and oil-dependent.

A Criminal Legacy Dressed as Reform

Babangida is often portrayed as a “clever strategist,” but history remembers him as a reckless economic saboteur whose policies left Nigeria in ruins. While some celebrate him as a “military genius,” Nigerians should never forget that [b]his legacy is one of corruption, economic collapse, and generational suffering.

Babangida didn’t just ruin the naira—he ruined the country’s future.

what is the difference between IBB and Tinubu?

gentlekeny:
How Babangida's Mismanagement Crushed the Naira

In August 1985, when Ibrahim Babangida took over government by overthrowing Muhammadu Buhari, $1 = N0.89 (official rate) and N1.70 at the black market. By the time he left in 1993, $1 = N17.30 (official) and N21.90 in the black market. He was still behind the scene and installed the Interim Government headed by Ernest Shonekon.

Fast forward to 2025, the exchange rate is $1 = N1,500, while the Saudi Riyal has remained relatively stable at 3.75 SAR = $1, just a minor shift from 3.64 SAR = $1 in 1985.

While the Saudi economy whose mainstay is crude oil maintained stability, Nigeria plunged into currency freefall under policies like SAP (Structural Adjustment Program), which devalued the naira and fueled economic hardship.

How did we get to this point where political leaders gather to celebrate certain people who laid terrible human rights records and excruciating economic policies that brought us to where we are today?

Because we are resource (oil) dependent economy. We don't earn enough in forex because

1. Oil prices are not controlled by us.

2. Our population is too large for the revenue we earn from oil.

3. We don't produce industrial goods for export...industrial goods whose prices we can set.

Also at independence, we chose to run a economy based on subsides to 'pull people out of poverty' which worked until the populaiton grew beyond what the resources could pay for(that started around the 1970's).

I should add that a lot of people blame IBB introducing SAP for the downturn in our economy. The fact is, we had to bring in SAP because from 1982-86 oil prices had fallen and with it the forex we needed. Either we did SAP or the economy would have kept on collapsing.

Rectifying the problems above means an economy where most people are taxed, the resources we have are highly regulated, not just oil, and subsidies on everything are removed (especially on power). But at the end, people will call me an agbado and an insensitive bourgeois element, and would then scream something about being poor...so the show continues.

Dont produce or be productive ooo. Be checking rate of regression and praising the first destroyers like they are better than the last n latter destroyers.

Babangida must be punished for saying the 1966 coup was not an igbo coup. Imagine, topic after topic since the book launch and initial agbàdo propaganda against igbos didn't work out

nairalanda1:
Because we are resource (oil) dependent economy. We don't earn enough in forex because

1. Oil prices are not controlled by us.

2. Our population is too large for the revenue we earn from oil.

3. We don't produce industrial goods for export...industrial goods whose prices we can set.

Also at independence, we chose to run a economy based on subsides to 'pull people out of poverty' which worked until the populaiton grew beyond what the resources could pay for(that started around the 1970's).

I should add that a lot of people blame IBB introducing SAP for the downturn in our economy. The fact is, we had to bring in SAP because from 1982-86 oil prices had fallen and with it the forex we needed. Either we did SAP or the economy would have kept on collapsing.

Rectifying the problems above means an economy where most people are taxed, the resources we have are highly regulated, not just oil, and subsidies on everything are removed (especially on power). But at the end, people will call me an agbado and an insensitive bourgeois element, and would then scream something about being poor...so the show continues.

So what positive thing did the SAP achieve. Show with stats. E.g. inflation was XYZ% and 3 years after SAP was introduced, it went down to XYZ % .

Show stats

gentlekeny:
So what positive thing did the SAP achieve. Show with stats. E.g. inflation was XYZ% and 3 years after SAP was introduced, it went down to XYZ % .

Show stats

Sap prevented our bad situation then from becoming times ten.

To get the change you want requires doing something different. If you read my post you will see where I am going

Yoruba people make una rest, IBB does not care or moved by your propagandas and insults, IBB oko awon Yoruba

MASTAkiLLAh:
Babangida must be punished for saying the 1966 coup was not an igbo coup. Imagine, topic after topic since the book launch and initial agbàdo propaganda against igbos didn't work out

Who is going to punish him? coward and weak Yoruba? make your mouth no kill you

Ibb really dealth with u cowords 😂😂😂😂 anything you like write,we don't believe you.we know is propaganda like you liared against innocent men like gej,agu uronsi, ojukwu etc.
I repeat ibb clearly said the coup was awolowo coup and a Yoruba coup.

nairalanda1:
Sap prevented our bad situation then from becoming times ten.

To get the change you want requires doing something different. If you read my post you will see where I am going

You're lying. The economic projections the government made about SAP all failed. So you're lying. It's all in the Economics textbooks and journals for you to go through.

Your collective policy of keeping the Igbos down makes Nigerians encourage and support criminals to power. Nigeria has got it coming

gentlekeny:
How Babangida's Mismanagement Crushed the Naira

In August 1985, when Ibrahim Babangida took over government by overthrowing Muhammadu Buhari, $1 = N0.89 (official rate) and N1.70 at the black market. By the time he left in 1993, $1 = N17.30 (official) and N21.90 in the black market. He was still behind the scene and installed the Interim Government headed by Ernest Shonekon.

Fast forward to 2025, the exchange rate is $1 = N1,500, while the Saudi Riyal has remained relatively stable at 3.75 SAR = $1, just a minor shift from 3.64 SAR = $1 in 1985.

While the Saudi economy whose mainstay is crude oil maintained stability, Nigeria plunged into currency freefall under policies like SAP (Structural Adjustment Program), which devalued the naira and fueled economic hardship.

How did we get to this point where political leaders gather to celebrate certain people who laid terrible human rights records and excruciating economic policies that brought us to where we are today?

ValarDoharis:
Your collective policy of keeping the Igbos down makes Nigerians encourage and support criminals to power. Nigeria has got it coming

No be ethnic something oga...