Nigeria, May 25 -- There are moments when a lawsuit, a regulatory decision, an import licence, or a confrontation between powerful commercial interests reveals something much deeper about the structure of a country's economic configuration.

Nigeria is now at such a moment.

The current battle surrounding the Dangote Refinery is not simply about petrol imports. It is not merely a disagreement between a private refinery, fuel marketers, regulators, or the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

It is a struggle over the future direction of Nigeria's economy.

At stake is whether Africa's largest oil producer will finally become a serious industrial economy capable of refining its own resources and retaining value within its b...