Nigeria, May 26 -- Nigeria's greatest tragedy isn't just corruption or incompetence-it's the tangled web of contradictory expectations we wrap around our leaders, only to scream betrayal when they fail to untangle them. We worship ideals we cannot live by and crucify others for playing the very game we designed. Take, for instance, the curious case of Hon. Yusuf Gagdi of Plateau State. A wave of praise recently swept through social media after he helped some constituents secure spots in the Nigerian Navy's Direct Short Service Course. He smiled in the photos. His people cheered. It was, to them, empowerment. Victory.

Yet, the same people who celebrate Gagdi with chants of "our hero!" are often the ones who spit venom at President Bola Ah...