Nigeria, July 19 -- It's been over two years since Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office as Nigeria's president. For many of us who had grown tired of the vindictive ethnonationalism that defined Muhammadu Buhari's reign, Tinubu's emergence sparked a flicker of hope. For all his flaws, Tinubu had always styled himself as a bridge-builder, a master political negotiator, a man who built coalitions across Nigeria's fractious tribal and religious lines. But that hope is slowly dissipating in a region of the country, disillusioned by a familiar tale: the continued, unjust detention of Nnamdi Kanu.

Let me be clear from the outset: I am not an apologist for Kanu, nor have I ever been a supporter of IPOB's often inflammatory methods. Like many Igbos,...