Nigeria, Oct. 30 -- It came quietly - like a shadow at dawn. No press conference. No warning. Just a presidential memo dated October 21, 2025, authorizing a 15% ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel.

And beneath those numbers lies a truth too dangerous to ignore - this isn't reform; it's slow economic strangulation.

Official inflation stands at 27.3%, but on the street, it feels like 40%.

Take a walk through Nnewi. A baker counts his fuel drums at dawn, knowing each litre now costs more than yesterday. He used to bake through the night - twelve trays at a time.

Now, he bakes eight, and prays customers don't ask why the loaves are smaller. He won't mention the new import duty. He'll just smile weakly and mutter, "Things are hard....