Nigeria, Dec. 29 -- Life has an uncanny way of humbling even the most confident among us. No matter who we are or how carefully we arrange our expectations, life refuses to obey neat arithmetic, public applause, or the comforting illusion that effort always guarantees outcomes. It disrupts logic, embarrasses certainty, and often leaves us searching for explanations when events defy science, convention, or popular belief. The more I reflect on recent headlines in Nigeria, the more convinced I become that disappointment is not an accident of life; it is one of its most reliable teachers.

Take, for instance, the reaction to Aisha Buhari's account of her years in Aso Rock. For many devoted Buharists, the revelations felt less like history an...