Nigeria, Oct. 13 -- How Tinubu's Inflation Recalculation Collides With the Reality of Nigerian Households

When school resumed this September, my son's best friend did not return with the other children. At first, I thought he was simply taking his time to resume. Perhaps his family was making arrangements, I reasoned, and he would appear in class after a few days. But the days became weeks, and his seat remained empty. Eventually, my son and I decided to visit his house to find out why he had not returned to school.

His father's explanation has stayed with me. He was tired of paying the school fees. Not the fees of a child just entering the school, but those of a returning pupil whose education was already under way. He had reached a p...