NewStats: 3,264,808 , 8,184,754 topics. Date: Thursday, 12 June 2025 at 12:22 PM 1j6c4k

This is a photograph of a purchase receipt for a brand new Honda Civic car which was purchased on 17 Nov 1976 from Leventis Motors.

At that time, a brand new Honda Civic cost only Three Thousand, Two Hundred and Five Naira (₦3,205) in Nigeria.



SOURCE

https://naijaphilia.com/blog/2023/03/04/naija-throwback-honda-civic-purchase-receipt-in-1976/

Na wa ooo

Amazing..

They bought brand new cars like it was nothing in those good old days..

Nice!

LikeAking:
Amazing..

They bought brand new cars like it was nothing in those good old days..

Nice!

That sum of money wasn't easy to come by then.

LikeAking:
Amazing..

They bought brand new cars like it was nothing in those good old days..

Nice!

Really? Perhaps post the annual salary of those you claim "bought brand new cars like it was nothing in those good old days" so we can truly see how amazing those good old days were.

That 3,205 is now 3.2M.

Your proposal is insightful. Let's check it out:

(A). PURCHASING POWER IN 1976 VS COST OF 1976 HONDA CIVIC
In 1976, Nigeria's nominal minimum wage was ₦60 per month i.e. ₦720 per annum.

In 1976, the cost of a brand-new Honda Civic was ₦3,205

This was equivalent to 53.5 months' salary (or four and a half years' salary).


(B). PURCHASING POWER IN 2023 VS COST OF 2023 HONDA CIVIC
In 2023, Nigeria's minimum wage is ₦30,000 per month i.e. ₦360,000 per annum.

In 2023, the cost of a brand-new Honda Civic is ₦19.5m (approx).

This is equivalent to 650 months' salary (54 years' salary).

(C). INFERENCE
By this purely linear logic (not taking any other germane factors into ), the base-salaried Nigerian worker in 2023 is more than 12-fold worse off than his 1976 counterpart!

budaatum:


Really? Perhaps post the annual salary of those you claim "bought brand new cars like it was nothing in those good old days" so we can truly see how amazing those good old days were.

32M

YeyeGbami:
That 3,205 is now 3.2M.

NaijaphiliaBlog:
Your proposal is insightful. Let's check it out:

(A). PURCHASING POWER IN 1976 VS COST OF 1976 HONDA CIVIC
In 1976, Nigeria's nominal minimum wage was ₦60 per month i.e. ₦720 per annum.

In 1976, the cost of a brand-new Honda Civic was ₦3,205

This was equivalent to 53.5 months' salary (or four and a half years' salary).


(B). PURCHASING POWER IN 2023 VS COST OF 2023 HONDA CIVIC
In 2023, Nigeria's minimum wage is ₦30,000 per month i.e. ₦360,000 per annum.

In 2023, the cost of a brand-new Honda Civic is ₦19.5m (approx).

This is equivalent to 650 months' salary (54 years' salary).

(C). INFERENCE
By this purely linear logic (not taking any other germane factors into ), the base-salaried Nigerian worker in 2023 is more than 12-fold worse off than his 1976 counterpart!

Good try. Very good try in fact, but linear logic don't quite cut it I would think, since there's a lot of germaine factor (exchange rate, along with its corresponding strength of currency, and inflation), which must be taken into unfortunately. But again, very very good try.

Your minimum wage figures are questionable for starts (first image below), and a person on minimum wage in 1976 and 2023 would only dream in their sleep of buying a brand new Honda Civic regardless. Those who buy brand new Honda Civics in 1976 and 2023 earn a lot more than minimum wage. Yeyegbami says ₦3,205 in 1976 is now ₦3.2M, and by linear logic, if his claim is true, ₦60 in 1976 would be like ₦60,000 today, or ₦600,000 if one usecondom.

Second image is the salaries of newly commissioned officers in the Medical Corp in 1976. They are the sort of people who'd have bought a brand new Honda Civic in 1976, and likely who would buy one today.

That said, a person on a ₦60 a month wage in 1976 was likely better off than a person on the equivalent wage today as Nigeria was doing financially much better in 1976 than it is today, but I wouldn't say as well off as to buy a brand new Honda Civic.

LikeAking:
Amazing..

They bought brand new cars like it was nothing in those good old days..

Nice!

There is no doubt that the standard of living in the country has fallen, over time.

Those who are old enough will have memories of many relations who took loans and bought brand new vehicles, in those days.

These days, what ratio of our honest, hard-working citizens can afford to buy brand new cars?

DaCharis2016:
Na wa ooo

Na real wah!

The price of a brand new Peugeot vehicle was around #6000 naira at SCOA, my Father bought one around late seventies and early eighties. They had payment plans. I drove those vehicles cos I grew up to meet them.

University of ibadan was feeding students at dinning halls then and they had their laundry done for them too in the seventies.

The current political class destroyed this country shortly they took power in the eighties-bubu and nineties. Lets hope they fix it

Those were the days!

Almost seems like you are talking about an entirely different country...??

ACRI:
The price of a brand new Peugeot vehicle was around #6000 naira at SCOA, my Father bought one around late seventies and early eighties. They had payment plans. I drove those vehicles cos I grew up to meet them.

University of ibadan was feeding students at dinning halls then and they had their laundry done for them too in the seventies.

The current political class destroyed this country shortly they took power in the eighties-bubu and nineties. Lets hope they fix it

Certainly wasn't. However, it is quite obvious that the standard of living in the country has fallen.

overdrive:


That sum of money wasn't easy to come by then.

Brand new Peugeot @ N6,000! Sounds incredible but it is true.

One of my elderly uncles bought his Peugeot 504 at N6,200 in 1982, if I correctly.

Truly, inflation is an ill-wind that does no one any good.

ACRI:
The price of a brand new Peugeot vehicle was around #6000 naira at SCOA, my Father bought one around late seventies and early eighties. They had payment plans. I drove those vehicles cos I grew up to meet them.

University of ibadan was feeding students at dinning halls then and they had their laundry done for them too in the seventies.

The current political class destroyed this country shortly they took power in the eighties-bubu and nineties. Lets hope they fix it

YeyeGbami:
That 3,205 is now 3.2M.

Probably more like N20m now.

Excellent points!

You are right - my intention was not to imply that a minimum wage worker in 1976 could afford a brand new car, but rather to indicate the gap in purchasing power between the 1976 and the 2023 salaries of a given worker on equivalent salary scale.

budaatum:


Good try. Very good try in fact, but linear logic don't quite cut it I would think, since there's a lot of germaine factor (exchange rate, along with its corresponding strength of currency, and inflation), which must be taken into unfortunately. But again, very very good try.

Your minimum wage figures are questionable for starts (first image below), and a person on minimum wage in 1976 and 2023 would only dream in their sleep of buying a brand new Honda Civic regardless. Those who buy brand new Honda Civics in 1976 and 2023 earn a lot more than minimum wage. Yeyegbami says ₦3,205 in 1976 is now ₦3.2M, and by linear logic, if his claim is true, ₦60 in 1976 would be like ₦60,000 today, or ₦600,000 if one usecondom.

Second image is the salaries of newly commissioned officers in the Medical Corp in 1976. They are the sort of people who'd have bought a brand new Honda Civic in 1976, and likely who would buy one today.

That said, a person on a ₦60 a month wage in 1976 was likely better off than a person on the equivalent wage today as Nigeria was doing financially much better in 1976 than it is today, but I wouldn't say as well off as to buy a brand new Honda Civic.

Rice and chicken money in 2023.

NaijaphiliaBlog:
Excellent points!

You are right - my intention was not to imply that a minimum wage worker in 1976 could afford a brand new car, but rather to indicate the gap in purchasing power between the 1976 and the 2023 salaries of a given worker on equivalent salary scale.

And I can't argue with that since it's very true.

overdrive:


That sum of money wasn't easy to come by then.

Who said that?

NaijaphiliaBlog:
Your proposal is insightful. Let's check it out:

(A). PURCHASING POWER IN 1976 VS COST OF 1976 HONDA CIVIC
In 1976, Nigeria's nominal minimum wage was ₦60 per month i.e. ₦720 per annum.

In 1976, the cost of a brand-new Honda Civic was ₦3,205

This was equivalent to 53.5 months' salary (or four and a half years' salary).


(B). PURCHASING POWER IN 2023 VS COST OF 2023 HONDA CIVIC
In 2023, Nigeria's minimum wage is ₦30,000 per month i.e. ₦360,000 per annum.

In 2023, the cost of a brand-new Honda Civic is ₦19.5m (approx).

This is equivalent to 650 months' salary (54 years' salary).

(C). INFERENCE
By this purely linear logic (not taking any other germane factors into ), the base-salaried Nigerian worker in 2023 is more than 12-fold worse off than his 1976 counterpart!

I love these sort of educative responses. 1,000 stars

That's why Ghanaians were rushing to Nigeria.

My dad built his twin duplex at Ikeja for 60k in 1981.

YeyeGbami:
That 3,205 is now 3.2M.

Lol. More o.

That was a BRAND New car

Nice analysis. Thanks for breaking it down.

NaijaphiliaBlog:
Your proposal is insightful. Let's check it out:

(A). PURCHASING POWER IN 1976 VS COST OF 1976 HONDA CIVIC
In 1976, Nigeria's nominal minimum wage was ₦60 per month i.e. ₦720 per annum.

In 1976, the cost of a brand-new Honda Civic was ₦3,205

This was equivalent to 53.5 months' salary (or four and a half years' salary).


(B). PURCHASING POWER IN 2023 VS COST OF 2023 HONDA CIVIC
In 2023, Nigeria's minimum wage is ₦30,000 per month i.e. ₦360,000 per annum.

In 2023, the cost of a brand-new Honda Civic is ₦19.5m (approx).

This is equivalent to 650 months' salary (54 years' salary).

(C). INFERENCE
By this purely linear logic (not taking any other germane factors into ), the base-salaried Nigerian worker in 2023 is more than 12-fold worse off than his 1976 counterpart!

usecondom:
32M

You cant buy a brand new civic for 3.2m

Sorry, I meant cant

LexngtonSteele:
Nice analysis. Thanks for breaking it down.

You are most welcome.

CodeTemplar:
Rice and chicken money in 2023.

In fact, there are some places where a plate of rice and chicken now costs more than N3,205!!!

Ofemmanu1:


You can buy a brand new civic for 3.2m

Do you mean a Tokunbo Civic?

Wow!

Right now, N3,205 can't even buy a plate of Extravaganza Pizza from Domino's.

NaijaphiliaBlog:
This is a photograph of a purchase receipt for a brand new Honda Civic car which was purchased on 17 Nov 1976 from Leventis Motors.

At that time, a brand new Honda Civic cost only Three Thousand, Two Hundred and Five Naira (₦3,205) in Nigeria.



SOURCE

https://naijaphilia.com/blog/2023/03/04/naija-throwback-honda-civic-purchase-receipt-in-1976/

Yes o!

A lot of Ghanaians came to live in Nigeria in those days.

grandstar:


I love these sort of educative responses. 1,000 stars

That's why Ghanaians were rushing to Nigeria.

My dad built his twin duplex at Ikeja for 60k in 1981.

Inflation actually affects everybody, negatively.

That is one of the reasons Central Banks around the world make such intense efforts to fight it.

Sammy4Joy:
Brand new Peugeot @ N6,000! Sounds incredible but it is true.

One of my elderly uncles bought his Peugeot 504 at N6,200 in 1982, if I correctly.

Truly, inflation is an ill-wind that does no one any good.

He most likely meant a Toks Civic.

Sammy4Joy:


Do you mean a Tokunbo Civic?

Ofemmanu1:


You can buy a brand new civic for 3.2m

Really? Where please?