Nigeria, Nov. 3 -- Africa Unscrambled

Two years ago, at a dinner in Washington for so-called Africa "experts" to brief an incoming congressman on the continent, the newly elected lawmaker began his contribution by declaring that one of Africa's most urgent crises was a "Christian genocide" in Nigeria. When asked to elaborate, he cited a single name - Nnamdi Kanu - as an example of a persecuted Christian languishing in prison.

The table fell silent when someone gently explained that Kanu was not a pastor or missionary but a Biafran secessionist leader, jailed for fomenting rebellion and inciting violence, not for his faith.

That same combination of ignorance and emotional manipulation resurfaced this weekend when Donald Trump erupted on...