Samuel Omang
The story of the Nigerian Naira is once again making headlines, but for all the wrong reasons. According to the latest Forbes currency calculator report for September 2025, the Naira has been ranked the ninth weakest currency in Africa — a sobering reminder of the country’s economic vulnerabilities despite recent wins in inflation control.
The Forbes ranking, which updates every five minutes using live data from the Open Exchange Rates API, provides a real-time picture of Africa’s monetary landscape. At the bottom of the ladder is the São Tomé & Príncipe Dobra, trading at a staggering 22,282 to the dollar, followed by the Leone of Sierra Leone at 20,970. Others include the Guinean Franc (8,680), Ugandan Shilling (3,503), Burundian Franc (2,968), Congolese Franc (2,811), Tanzanian Shilling (2,465), Malawian Kwacha (1,737), and then the Nigerian Naira at ₦1,490 to $1. Rounding up the list of the ten weakest is the Rwandan Franc at 1,448.
Yet, on the other end of the spectrum, a different story unfolds. The Tunisian Dinar (2.90 to $1) holds the enviable position of Africa’s strongest currency, followed closely by the Libyan Dinar (5.40), Moroccan Dirham (9.91), Ghanaian Cedi (12.31), and the Botswanan Pula (14.15). With all 54 African countries reflected in the data, the contrast in fortunes could not be starker.
Interestingly, Nigeria’s inflation story tells a paradox of its own. While the Naira battles for survival on the global stage, the National Bureau of Statistics has reported five consecutive months of disinflation, with the headline figure falling from 24.5 percent in January to 20.12 percent in August. Analysts attribute this rare easing to improved agricultural yields, stronger remittance inflows, firmer oil export earnings, and the Central Bank’s bold decision to maintain a benchmark rate at 27.5 percent.
Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) chairman, Dr. Omoniyi Akinsiju, described the trend as “Nigeria’s sharpest mid-year slowdown in over a decade,” projecting that inflation could dip as low as 17 percent by December. For ordinary Nigerians, however, the reality remains unchanged: food prices are still high, transportation costs biting, and the quest for dollars to fund education, travel, and business still stretching beyond reach.
This is the dilemma of Africa’s largest economy. On paper, progress is being made. In practice, the Nigerian Naira continues to wrestle with forces that test the resilience of households and businesses alike — a currency weighed down by history, policy, and global tides.