Decimal1973· ₦2 = ₤1· Chapter I · Money
Currency conversion 1 January 1973 under General Gowon. ₤1 = ₦2. Decimal kobo replaces shillings and pence.
1 January 1973
50k, ₦1, ₦5, ₦10 — decimal, agricultural motifs, and no Queen's head. Named by Awolowo, from 'Nigeria'.
What it bought
₦1 in 1973 bought roughly 16 litres of petrol, or twenty loaves of bread.
Worth today
₦1 of 1973 ≈ ₦7,010 in 2026 money.
1 January 1973 — effectively extinct
½k, 1k, 5k, 10k and 25k, struck in bronze and cupro-nickel. 'Kobo' is the Hausa word for the British penny.
What it bought
5 kobo bought a bottle of soft drink in 1973.
Worth today
No kobo coin has circulated meaningfully since the mid-1990s. The unit survives only in accounting.
Under the Decimal Currency Act 1971, Nigeria converted to a decimal currency on 1 January 1973. The naira (₦) replaced the Nigerian Pound at ₦2 = ₤1. The name was proposed by Finance Commissioner Chief Obafemi Awolowo (from 'Nigeria'). The kobo (100 = ₦1) replaced shillings and pence.
What it cost — political & economic reality
Nigeria in 1973: who was in charge, the cabinet of the day, the GDP, and the crises that defined the period.
Head of State · Military
1966–1975
National reality
Counter-coup of July 1966, Biafran War (1967–70), then the oil-boom expansion. Twelve-state structure (1967) replaced the four regions. Three Rs (Reconciliation, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation) and indigenisation began.
Crises of the period
GDP (World Bank)
$12.5 bn (1970) → $27.7 bn (1975, oil boom)
Cabinet (selected portfolios)
Chief Obafemi Awolowo (1967–71)
A.Y. Eke (c.1967)
Federal Executive Council of commissioners; full roster being compiled.
Sources · Federal Military Government records · World Bank WDI
Tier 1 · primary
Courts. Gazettes. National archives.
Tier 2 · corroborating
OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.
Tier 4 · tertiary, flagged
Wikipedia only where primary is pending. Always labelled.