Free Market in Name, Controlled in Practice: Nigeria’s Economic Contradiction

Please share

Nigeria has, on multiple occasions, declared its commitment to a free market economy. Government officials have touted deregulation as a path to prosperity, investment attraction, and private sector empowerment. But in practice, this vision remains far from reality.

Despite public declarations of market liberalisation, government agencies continue to fix prices, impose arbitrary controls, and stifle the very competition they are meant to encourage. This contradiction has thrown businesses into confusion and exposed a deep flaw in Nigeria’s economic policymaking: the creation of policies that are repeatedly countered by the actions of the very institutions meant to implement them.

Take, for instance, the experiences of major companies like Multichoice, MTN, and Air Peace. These are private firms operating in sectors that are supposedly deregulated. Yet, each has been dragged before regulatory tribunals and courts—not for defrauding consumers or breaking competition laws—but for attempting to set prices based on market realities.

This raises a critical question: how can a company be accused of price-fixing in an economy that claims to be free?

In a true free market economy, pricing is dictated by the forces of supply and demand. Businesses are expected to compete, innovate, and set prices that reflect their costs, quality, and service value. Government’s role is limited to ensuring transparency, enforcing consumer protection laws, and preventing monopoly abuse—not micromanaging price decisions.

Unfortunately, Nigeria’s regulators often do the opposite. The energy sector, for example, continues to operate under the shadow of “deregulation” while the government discreetly sets price bands. In aviation, airlines face pressure to keep ticket prices within “acceptable” limits despite skyrocketing operating costs. In telecommunications and broadcasting, any upward price movement is met with investigations and regulatory sanctions.

This inconsistency reflects a deeper institutional problem: government agencies are either unwilling or unprepared to implement the free market model Nigeria claims to follow. As a result, policies are created and contradicted in the same breath.

This double standard is costing the economy. Operators across sectors—telecoms, aviation, logistics, manufacturing, and retail—are forced to endure erratic regulatory behavior, uncertain pricing frameworks, and policy reversals that make long-term planning nearly impossible. It kills innovation. It erodes investor confidence. And worst of all, it punishes the very businesses expected to drive Nigeria’s economic growth.

Which brings us to an uncomfortable but necessary question:

Should these regulatory agencies be held accountable—and even compelled to compensate economic operators—for the hardship and losses inflicted by inconsistent and contradictory policies?

After all, businesses are expected to compensate consumers when they err. Shouldn’t regulators also be subject to consequences when their actions undermine entire industries?

Nigeria cannot afford to continue this cycle of self-defeating policies. If we are to truly embrace the principles of a free market, then we must also embrace the discipline, clarity, and restraint it requires. Regulatory agencies must align with policy declarations. Interventions must be strategic and transparent—not arbitrary and reactive.

Until then, Nigeria will remain stuck in a frustrating paradox—a nation that calls itself a free market economy, yet behaves like a centrally controlled one.

And in that contradiction lies the greatest threat to our economic future.

Stay informed, Stay ahead with The Ameh News 


Discover more from Ameh News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *