The Nigerian currency is one that I have always felt biased about, especially since the redesigning that occurred late last year, we all hoped for a new look and possibly changing the faces of the individuals on each note, that would have been a real redesigning right, but none of that happened instead the supposed redesigning was a change of color the brownish look of our 1000 note took a bluish hue, while other note also experienced a transition in color which even made the currency confusing for the citizens, my brother in law got a change of 500 naira from a store instead of 200 due to the striking resemblance of the new 500 note to the old 200 naira note, imagine a whole lot of other people who would have made such mistake too, we didn't beed them to change the color of our currency, maybe a change of the personalities on the note would have sufficed instead. It would have been a better option to redesign the notes in a way that was easier to understand and remember. This way, citizens would not be at risk of making costly mistakes. Additionally, it would have provided a more modern representation of the country.
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Over the years, our past leaders have been the faces of our currency due to their great work, bringing independence to the nation, also fighting for democratic ruling, no doubt they did greatly, but the present leaders are making all of their efforts seem in vain, even the currency doesn't hold much value anymore, reminds me of a skit I watched where a $100 note was compared to our 1000 naira note, then we were asked to choose a better head, of course it has to be the $100 bill. This skit speaks to the current state of our nation, where our leaders have failed to deliver the promises they made. This has caused citizens to lose trust in the government, leading to a decrease in the value of our currency.
That being said, if I'm asked to choose a new face for our currency, I'll choose other than the legendary Fela Anukulapo Kuti, why? because he was a musician and political activist who used his vocal prowess to speak for the people without fear against our corrupt leaders even though it was during the military regime till his death, he was the terror of the leading politicians then, it's funny how his words still hold a strong point till date, since our politicians are mostly about the money, seeing his face every time would remind them and everyone about his stance and everything he stood against, bad ruling, killing, stealing, corruption, etc. Even though he was constantly being attacked and imprisoned by the politicians, he did not back down, He remained true to his beliefs and continued his fight for justice. He was a symbol of courage and resilience, inspiring others to join him in his mission. He never gave up, even when the odds were stacked against him.
Though he had his own demons of smoking marijuana and being a serial polygamist, which led to his death as he had complications from AIDS his good legacy lives. On, and today, the. Youths are not afraid to protest against bad government, even while we brutality get killed, we still clamor for change.