One cedi covered beer, cigarettes and a round trip – Kofi Amoabeng recalls the power of money back in the days
Renowned Ghanaian businessman and former military officer, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, has once again stirred nostalgia with an amusing yet eye-opening recollection of just how far money could go during his university days.
In an interview with broadcaster Kafui Dey, Amoabeng shared vivid memories of life as a student at the University of Ghana — highlighting what he could do with just one cedi, and how five cedis could even take him across the border to Lomé, Togo for shopping.
“The taxi would wait for me while I bought a mini bottle of beer and a packet of Rothmans,” he said. “After that, the same taxi would take me back to campus — all for one cedi.”
The interviewer, clearly astonished, repeated the figure for clarity. Amoabeng nodded in affirmation, adding that it was just one old cedi (OCD), a currency that carried immense value at the time.
“The money was powerful, man,” he said with a smile.
But it didn’t end there. He explained that with just five cedis, he could travel from Accra to Lomé and return — not for leisure alone, but for shopping.
“You’d go to Togo to buy apples for a girl you were chasing,” he said, laughing.
“There was no apple in town back then. Togo was where you’d see real supermarkets.”
In Lomé, he would also purchase savon — the iconic blue soap wrapped in paper — to freshen up his wardrobe.
“Put it in your clothes, and it gives a beautiful smell,” he recalled. He also bought materials for sewing trousers and picked up other unique items unavailable in Ghana at the time.
