Nigeria, April 14 -- There is a joke about a child who failed his promotion examination. The child devised a painless get-away way to break the bad news to his no-nonsense parents.

Striding home with all smiles, the child opened the conversation with his parents. First, he asked his father if he remembered Orikogbo Orimoogunje, the brilliant boy who represented the school in a science quiz competition, a year before. The father affirmed that he could picture the boy. Then the child announced: 'He failed the promotion examination,' and the parents both exclaimed: "What!"

Next, the smart boy turned to the mother and asked if she remembered Idiileke, the daughter of her friend, Ibadiaran. The mother answered in affirmation. The child aske...