Nigeria, Feb. 12 -- Recently, I found myself reflecting on a statement attributed to the Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, suggesting that any attempt to replace the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, outside the Hausa-Fulani-Kanuri bloc could carry political consequences for the ruling APC. Whether her intervention was literary, reflective, or a mirror held up to society, one thing was clear: it stirred the waters. Art, after all, is not always meant to comfort; sometimes it exposes.

Yet even when art presents a bitter truth, it often tries to sugarcoat it. In this instance, the coating was thin, and the aftertaste lingered.

What struck me most was not merely the politics of succession but the deeper cu...