Nigerian Woman Preserves 40 Years of Naira Notes as Living HistoryIn a quiet home in Ogbomosho, Oyo State, Nigeria, a small personal collection is telling a national story.For over four decades, Mrs. Janet Adekemi Alagbe has carefully preserved Nigerian currency both coins and paper notes that passed through her hands between 1976 and 2026. This begins as a simple habit of saving hnow become a living history of Nigeria’s economic journey.A Collection That Tells a Nation’s StoryLaid out across her living room table are faded naira notes and old coins. Together, they chart Nigeria’s changing economy, from a time when a single note could feed a family to an era where the same amount barely buys a sachet of water.“These notes represent the changes the Nigerian nation has gone through,” Mrs. Alagbe says.“They show how much value our money once had before inflation changed everything.”Her collection includes both coins and paper currency, from early kobo coins to high-denomination naira notes introduced decades later.I was always given 50kobo to school yet I will buy porridge from my Favourite food seller, get all junks I love to eat and still have money to saved. She recounted. So I decided to have them saved because I know they will surely become a history. A Life Shaped by SavingMrs. Alagbe traces her habit back to her youth. She left home at a young age to assist her aunt in Lokoja, where she worked in a small food business.“My youth was not easy,” she recalls.“But that was where I learned the power of saving. I discovered that in saving, you have the power to redefine tomorrow.”Each time she received a new note or coin, she kept one aside not to spend, but to remember.Defying the Exchange OrdersOver the years, Nigeria has redesigned its currency several times, urging citizens to return old notes to banks for exchange of the new notes. While Mrs. Alagbe complied, she quietly kept a few examples each time.“The drive to show this to the younger generation made me reserve some,” she says.“I wanted them to see how our money has changed.”Preserving the Past Without Modern ToolsWithout access to preservation materials, Mrs. Alagbe improvised.“I started saving them in my shoe rack,” she says with a smile.“The coins, I wrapped with cotton wool so they would not rust. The naira notes I kept in my purse once the purse worn out, I transfer them into another purse. This I keep in a safe area free from moisture. When Money Becomes MemoryToday, the notes no longer hold financial value but they carry history.“What once could buy meals can now buy almost nothing,” Mrs. Alagbe says.“The notes lost their financial worth, but they gained historical meaning.”She hopes her collection will help young Nigerians understand the realities of inflation and economic change.“These notes are proof that time changes everything,” she says.“They remind us of where we came from—and how far we have gone.”