That is what happened, but it is not what Nigerians think happened. Unsurprisingly, Nigerians think that the terrible increase in poverty they experienced was caused by the economic reforms that were so loudly trumpeted. Until reform, life was getting better; then along came reform, and poverty soared. Given that belief, Nigerians go on to ask the obvious question: why did we undergo such devastating “reform”? The answer they arrive at, which is inescapable given the previous steps, is that the international financial institutions conspired to ruin Nigeria.
