Who are the Nigerians on the Naira note?
In 2012, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, announced that a single N5000 note will be introduced and will bear the faces of three women.
The women were Margaret Ekpo, Hajia Gambo Sawaba, and Funmilayo Kuti.
It would have been the first time notable women would appear on the naira note.
The plan never materialised.
So who are the men on the naira notes?
N5 note issued 2nd July 1979: Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
The portrait of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa appears on the N5 note.
Born in December 1912, he was Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister
He was Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
He was overthrown and killed in a military coup on January 15, 1966.
N10 note issued 2nd July 1979: Alvan Ikoku
Alvan Ikoku’s portrait appears on the N10 note
Ikoku was born on August 1, 1900, in present-day Abia State.
He was an educationist, politician, and activist
In 1962, he pushed for the ‘Education Bill of Rights’ for free primary education nationwide.
He died on November 18, 1971, and was declared a national hero on October 1, 1978
N20 note issued on 11th February 1977: Murtala Muhammed
The portrait of Murtala Muhammed appears on the N20 note
He was born on November 8, 1938, in Kano state and joined the Nigerian Army in 1958
He commandeered two divisions Nigerian Army during the Civil War and became head of state in July 1975.
He was assassinated on February 13, 1976, in an aborted coup led by Lt Col Buka Suka Dimka
N50 note issued in 1991
The portraits of three men and one woman appear on the N50 note
The identity of these four Nigerians remains unknown
They represent the three major ethnic groups, Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa while the woman represents the middle-belt
N100 note issued on December 1, 1999: Obafemi Awolowo
The portrait of Obafemi Awolowo appears on the N100 note
Awolowo was born on Mach 6, 1909 in Ikenne, present-day Ogun state
He was the first premier of the Western Region and leader of the opposition from 1952 to 1959.
He introduced free primary education and free primary healthcare in the western region.
Awolowo was imprisoned in 1963 for alleged sedition and later released by the Yakubu Gowon government in 1966.
He died on May 9, 1987
N200 note issued on November 1, 2000: Sir Ahmadu Bello
The portrait of Ahmadu Bello appears on the N200 note
Bello was born on June 12, 1910, in Sokoto and is a descendant of Usman Dan Fodio
He joined what would later become the Northern People’s Congress and became the first and only premier of northern Nigeria in 1954
He was assassinated on January 15, 1966, in a military coup
N500 note issued on April 4, 2001: Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe
The portrait of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe Appears on the N500 note
Azikiwe was born on November 16, 1904, in present-day Niger State to Igbo parents
He learnt to speak Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba due to growing up in different regions of Nigeria
He was premier of Eastern Nigeria before later becoming Nigeria’s president in 1960 till the 1966 coup when he was overthrown.
He died on May 11, 1996.
N1,000 note issued on October 12, 2005: Dr Clement Isong and Alhaji Aliyu Mai Borno
Alhaji Aliyu Mai Borno was born in 1919 in Yola, present-day Adamawa state.
He was appointed Nigeria’s first indigenous governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria on July 25, 1963, and held the position till June 22, 1967.
He died on February 23, 1970
Dr Clement Isong was born on April 20, 1920 in Eket, present-day Akwa Ibom state.
He was a lecturer, banker and politician who first taught economics at the University of Ibadan.
He later joined the Central Bank of Nigeria and succeeded Mai Borno as its governor on August 15, 1967 till September 22, 1975.
He was the first civilian Governor of Cross River State from 1979 to 1983
He died on May 29, 2000.
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