Nigeria, April 18 -- It's understandable if you have not paid attention. I can't help noticing because minding other people's business is part of my job description. On Tuesday, the newspapers reported a spat between the children of two leading politicians, Mohammed Abubakar and Shamsudeen Bala Mohammed.

Mohammed and Shamsudeen are the children of Atiku and Bala. Atiku was Nigeria's vice president, and Bala is the Bauchi State governor and chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors' Forum.

Both are ranking members of the main opposition, PDP, a party making as much effort to find its way as it is desperate to lose it. The tweetstorm between the children of these leaders has only piled on the party's misery, and what lies a...