In 2008, when Nigeria’s stock market collapsed, *Faramade recalls her mother losing money she had invested in shares.
“I can’t remember all the details, but there was a certain gloominess around her at the time,” she said.
Her mother belongs to a generation of Nigerians who lived through one of the country’s worst market crashes. Between 2004 and 2007, a booming economy and widespread optimism drew thousands of first-time investors into the Nigerian stock market. Much of the rally was fuelled by investors borrowing from banks to buy shares, pushing stock prices to record highs. Then came the crash.
The 2008 global financial crisis, triggered by the collapse of the United States housing market, caused stock prices to tumble. As share values fell, many investors rushed to sell their holdings to repay bank loans, accelerating the market’s decline.
Between March and December 2008, investors lost an estimated ₦6.96 trillion ($55.03 billion at the then exchange rate of ₦126.48/$).
