When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration scrapped Nigeria’s rigid foreign exchange regime in 2024, the move drew sharp criticism as the naira plunged to ₦1,800 per dollar in March that year. Many saw it as a currency collapse and a sign of economic freefall. Yet beneath the storm, the policy was a deliberate recalibration of the economy that is now yielding impressive results. By August 2025, the naira had clawed its way back to ₦1,525 to the dollar, marking a recovery of more than fifteen percent in just five months. The rebound was driven by rising oil revenues, increased diaspora remittances, and the clearance of over four billion dollars in forex backlogs, developments that restored investor trust and reinforced confidence in Nigeria’s financial system.
The unification of foreign exchange windows into a single transparent market rate was pivotal, creating space for the naira to find its realistic value. This shift immediately reshaped trade dynamics as Nigerian goods, once priced out of reach in international markets, suddenly became more competitive. Farmers and manufacturers could now sell sesame, cocoa, and processed products at attractive rates abroad while still earning more in naira terms at home. As a result, non-oil exports surged from 2.696 billion dollars in the first half of 2024 to 3.225 billion dollars in the first half of 2025, a year-on-year growth of nearly twenty percent, while export volumes rose steadily, proving that demand was not just a matter of higher prices but of increased global appetite for Nigerian products.
This shift has triggered a ripple effect across the economy. Exporters are reinvesting earnings into value-added processing, forex inflows are strengthening the currency without undermining competitiveness, and investor confidence is steadily deepening. Far from confirming the fears of collapse, the floating naira has shown its strength as a tool for long-term competitiveness. By allowing market forces to work rather than propping up the currency with scarce reserves, the government has opened the way for sustainable growth built on stronger exports, stable currency flows, and renewed investor participation.
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