Africa’s two most populous economies brave tough reforms 

When times are tough, politicians reach for metaphors. In Ethiopia, which floated its currency and entered a $3.4bn IMF programme on July 29th, the prime minister Abiy Ahmed (pictured) compared reform to “the pain of surgery, endured for healing”. In Nigeria Bola Tinubu, the president, has defended two devaluations, saying the old system was “a...