Nigeria, Feb. 6 -- Nigeria is bleeding, slowly, persistently, and in full public view. From rural communities ravaged by bandits to highways turned into hunting grounds for kidnappers, from farms abandoned to fear to villages emptied by violence, the signs of national distress are everywhere. Yet, in the face of this unrelenting crisis, a troubling pattern persists: many Nigerian politicians appear more afraid of losing votes than of losing the nation itself.

This is not an exaggeration. It is the logical conclusion drawn from years of half-measures, evasive rhetoric, and political hesitation in the face of widespread insecurity. While citizens bury their dead and flee their homes, those entrusted with power often retreat into electoral...