How big firms rip off African consumers
Competition law alone may not be enough to break their grip
KOKO MINGI VIII, king of the Nembe people, had a vigorous approach to trust-busting. In 1895 he led a pre-dawn raid on the headquarters of the Royal Niger Company, a British firm that had monopolised the palm-oil trade in the Niger delta. Koko captured 60 hostages and demanded to be allowed to trade freely. The British sent in the gunboats instead, and monopolists have had the upper hand in Nigeria ever since: the country did not enact an overarching competition law until last year.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “No contest”
From the October 3rd 2020 edition
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