The inaugural address of freshly-minted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has continued to trigger reactions. At first, the reactions appeared overwhelmingly positive. Longsuffering free market advocates waxed lyrical over his endorsement of unification of the exchange rate system, removal of subsidy, reversal of multiple taxation, and repatriation of funds by foreign investors. It was the ultimate moment of redemption for the liberal economists long abandoned in their wilderness echo chamber by perceived socialist, Muhammadu Buhari
Even the most virulent critics of the APC, and Tinubu for that matter, exhaled, punching the air in perfect synchronization to a blurt of ”at last!”.
Then the fuel queues began. The all-too-familiar but dreaded battle for survival at the filling stations became a fixture across the country, at a speed never before experienced. The power of a president’s words was in full glare. The depth of his command on the markets— both mainstreet and the financial markets— was visible to all. And the debate started in earnest. “Should the president have been more careful? Should he have been specific? Shouldn’t he have consulted widely before taking a definite position on subsidy removal? Isn’t he aware of the unique behaviour of Nigerian petroleum marketers?”, some asked.
