Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olisa Agbakoba, has described the current exchange‑rate volatility as one of Africa’s worst currency performances, noting that the naira depreciated by more than 40 per cent in 2024.
In a letter to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, dated November 7, 2025, and sent to The Guardian yesterday, Agbakoba referenced the minister’s recent assertion that “Nigeria turns towards prosperity” and acknowledged the Tinubu administration’s achievements, which include Gross Domestic Product (GDP ) growth, declining inflation, stabilised exchange rates, increased foreign reserves and improved oil production, while emphasising that currency instability remained the nation’s most pressing challenge.
He argued that the naira lacked fundamental economic pillars that would inspire confidence to hold and use the currency. To address this, Agbakoba proposed three transformative reforms capable of unlocking over 1.5 quadrillion naira in economic value.
According to him, a comprehensive land and real‑estate titling reform will convert roughly 90 per cent of Nigeria’s land that currently carries defective or no titles into legally recognised assets, releasing an estimated $900 billion of dead capital and enabling collateralised lending.
He also mentioned that expanding the naira credit economy through a robust legal and policy framework could inject N60 trillion into the economy if 200 million Nigerians accessed N300,000 each in credit, thereby boosting domestic consumption and reducing import demand.
Thirdly, Agbakoba stated that mechanising agriculture would shift the sector from subsistence to large‑scale production, increasing productivity, generating export earnings and eliminating costly food imports, which would strengthen foreign exchange supply and support the naira.
“Reducing food imports alone could save billions of dollars yearly, directly stabilising exchange rates and reducing imported inflation. When a nation feeds itself and exports the surplus, its currency strengthens naturally. Agricultural transformation thus creates a powerful fundamental: robust FX earnings and reduced import dependency that provides lasting stability to the naira and shields it from volatility,” he noted.
Agbakoba said these measures, combined with reforms in oil and gas, maritime optimisation and manufacturing, would provide tangible backing for the naira, curb volatility and lay a foundation for long‑term prosperity.
He projected that with disciplined execution, the reforms could be realised within a 10‑ to 20‑year horizon, citing the recent success of the tax reform as evidence that ambitious policy could be achieved.
He warned that the work would be painstaking but doable, and attached his October policy paper titled “Devolution is the Solution – Foundational Reform Agenda for Nigeria’s Transformation” for the minister’s consideration.
