Nigeria, Nov. 12 -- When a naval officer, Lieutenant Yerima, calmly told Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, "I am an officer, I have integrity," his words went beyond self-defense. They pierced through the arrogance and entitlement that have long plagued Nigeria's political class. It was more than a response to provocation, it was a moral verdict delivered in uniform.

That single sentence drew a sharp line between two worlds: one guided by discipline, ethics, and service, and another driven by ego, power, and self-importance. Yerima's statement, reportedly made during an altercation with Wike, instantly captured public attention. It was short, simple, and piercing, yet it symbolized a powerful rebuke of a political c...