Nigeria, May 29 -- It was obvious from the start that the ride would not be smooth. Tasking himself with turning around an economy that twice fell into recession under his predecessor with tough, unpopular reforms that his predecessors dodged said much about Bola Tinubu, who became Nigeria's president in May 2023. It also pointed to what lay ahead.

"Fuel subsidy is gone" was the most memorable line from his inaugural address. It marked a shift to Nigeria's best shot at a free market economy since its transition to democracy in 1999-and possibly since independence.

Since winning back international investors required the implementation of policies that would speed up economic liberalisation, price control mechanisms like petrol subsidies ...