Why is the naira always falling?

“Back in my time, you could get $1 for ₦1.”

If I had a dollar for every time I have heard that phrase, I would be a millionaire (in naira). You see, Nigerians, especially in the middle and upper class, are obsessed with the exchange rate. Very few people can tell you how fast the economy was growing in the 80s. Similarly, nobody keeps track of debt or even past inflation rates. But ask a Nigerian on Twitter how much pounds was in 2015, and you will probably get an accurate answer.

Stabilising the naira was even a campaign promise made by Buhari back in 2015.

To a pure economist, this fetishisation with the exchange rate looks odd. In general, exchange rates do not carry as much weight in other economies. In fact, there is no rule of thumb on what a “good” exchange rate is. Some countries, such as