Nigeria, May 24 -- In May 2023, immediately after assuming office, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu boldly implemented two of the most aggressive policy reforms demanded by the Bretton Woods institutions: the removal of the fuel subsidy and the liberalisation of the exchange rate.

These moves, applauded by both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, were sold to Nigerians as necessary steps toward economic stability and long-term growth. Yet, barely two years later, the same institutions are projecting a grim future for the very people these reforms were meant to uplift.

According to the World Bank's "Africa's Pulse" report of 23 April - released on the sidelines of the recently concluded Spring Meetings in Washington - po...