Nigeria’s benchmark stock index has surged 52% in dollar terms this year, making it the world’s fourth-best performer, but many Nigerians, including newspaper vendor Sulaimon Isiaka, are not feeling the benefits.
The naira has strengthened almost 5% against the greenback since January, and Africa’s largest oil producer’s dollar bonds have returned 4.4%, but food, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and transport costs have soared.
Frustration over President Bola Tinubu’s reforms and spiraling living costs is becoming a political challenge, with many Nigerians, including housekeeper Wudira Talwa, saying they will not vote for Tinubu in the next election.
Seated beneath a large red canvas umbrella outside Nigeria’s main stock exchange in Lagos, Sulaimon Isiaka watches traders, bankers and executives stream past his newspaper stand each day.
The 45-year-old vendor spends part of his 12-hour shift delivering bundles of newspapers to the Nigerian Exchange Group next door. Nearby is the
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