A recent report by the Independent Media and Policy (IMPI) reveals that Nigeria expended a staggering $388 billion between 2000 and 2023 in futile attempt to defend the Naira against the U.S. dollar.
This massive expenditure, incurred during 23 years of civil rule, failed to prevent the local currency’s continuous depreciation.
According to IMPI, previous administrations, including those of Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, and Buhari, collectively spent this colossal sum.
Despite these efforts, the Naira
plummeted from N22 to N460 against the dollar at the official window, representing a 2100% loss, and from N80 to N780 in the black market by May 2023.
The think tank argues that this $388 billion was effectively squandered and should have been utilized to bolster the nation’s external reserves and build the economy.
The report highlights the contrast with the current administration under Bola Tinubu, which harmonized multiple foreign exchange windows.
This policy shift, according to IMPI, has
saved the country an estimated $16.8 billion annually and brought predictability and stability to Nigeria’s foreign exchange ecosystem.
IMPI’s analysis indicates that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention in the FX market under the Tinubu administration totaled approximately $7.8 billion between 2024 and 2025.
This more efficient approach resulted in the Naira gaining 7.14% in 12 months,
reversing a chronic decline that began in 2012.
Furthermore, the unification of the foreign exchange market, coupled with the “Nigeria First” local content policy, has shifted Nigeria from an import- dependent economy to an export-surplus one. This recalibration led to a trade surplus of over ₦6.69 trillion by late 2025.
The IMPI report also criticizes the fiscal management of previous administrations, attributing the economic chaos of 2023 to retrogressive, populist -based economic models.
Despite generating nearly $1 trillion in revenue between 1999 and 2015, these
administrations left a combined external and domestic debt of about $65.49 billion and foreign reserves of $29.61 billion, with a significant portion inaccessible to the succeeding government.