Nigeria, Feb. 4 -- Anyone who ever sat through a Government or Politics class, whether in secondary school or at the university, knows the drill. Power is supposed to be exercised within rules. Leadership should be rational, restrained, and accountable. Institutions, not individuals, are meant to anchor governance. Democracy rests on consent, participation, checks and balances, respect for opposition, and the rule of law.

Now place these principles beside the daily conduct of Nigeria's political class, and the contradiction is not subtle. It is embarrassing. This is as Nigeria's politics operates as if Government and Politics textbooks are works of fiction, useful for passing exams, irrelevant to real life. What exists instead is a poli...