On a visit home in 2017, I carted back some of my parent’s diaries, with permission of course.

Today, I flicked through the 1986 diary. What caught my attention was the cost of goods in 1986. If you are conversant with the history of Nigeria, you will remember that it was in those days when Forex was very scarce because the value of Naira was higher than its true value (1 Naira officially exchanged for 1 Pound Sterling). In those days, there was only one Forex Market, later in September of that year Gen Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) would introduce the Second Tier Foreign Exchange Market (SFEM). Since those days, Nigeria has somehow not been able to exorcise dual exchange rate from our economic policies.

However, I digressed. Back to the diaries. I noticed that somebody quoted a motor engine price at 300 naira to my father. I found it as a small note in his diary:

I don’t know what this Motor Engine was all about. Another entry was clearer, a new battery was bought for 148 naira:

This is most likely a new battery for a car.

Photocopies cost 30 kobo per page in 1986:

My father placed a classified ad in the Daily Sketch for the price of 39 naira in 1986, I am not even sure what the events was:

Apart from the receipt, there was an entry in his diary, also our TV probably had a fault around the same time:

Two days later, he confirmed that the advert was published:

On the 8th of February, 1986, he reported buying 1/2 of a ton of cement at 145 naira, 10 drums of water at 20 naira, so, a single drum cost 2 Naira! He also bought engine oil at 15 naira:

A contract for drilling borehole was awarded to the tune of 18,000 naira on 14th of February, 2008. This must be connected to the school headed:

Writing things down is a very important exercise.