Different parts of Nigeria and people have their own nicknames for naira denominations.
The police, LASTMA, and agberos, area boys who collect money from commercial drivers, in Lagos also have different ways they describe each naira note.
Here are some of them.
₦10 — Faiba
Although inflation has made the faiba virtually useless, it serves as a unit of measurement for other denominations.
₦20 — Muri, Shandy
The ₦20 note goes by two names. In Lagos, commercial drivers, agberos and conductors call it shandy. However, it is more popularly called Muri since it bears the portrait of deceased former Head of State, General Muritala Mohammed.
₦50 — Wazo, White
This note also has two names, white and wazo. The wazo comes from fact that note which is fine because it depicts one of Nigeria's major tribes (Wazobia). Wa, zo, bia is the way Yorubas, Hausas and Igbo say ‘come’. However, in Lagos, many agberos refer to it as White.
₦100 and ₦200
These notes don't have their own special names, but are called faibas too. If ₦10 is one faiba, then ₦100 is 10 faibas and ₦200 is 20 faibas.
₦500 — Figo
Figo is the name of a retired Portuguese footballer, but is also a nickname for the ₦500 note.
₦1,000 and above
One naira represents ₦1,000, and two naira represents ₦2,000.
For police officers, LASTMA officials, and others, calendar dates mean money when collecting bribes. January is ₦1,000, February is ₦2,000, March is ₦3,000, and so on, until December which represents ₦12,000.