Nigeria, Feb. 19 -- El-Rufai is on the news again, and as always, the air is thick with emotion. In today's Nigeria, few names ignite conversation as quickly as Nasir El-Rufai. The headlines swirl around his recent travails with security agencies, and across homes, offices, and social media platforms, people speak not merely with opinions but with passion. Yet when emotion becomes the loudest voice in the room, reason often retreats to the background.

That is precisely when reflection becomes most necessary.

Beyond the immediate drama lies something deeper and more revealing: the powerful interplay of sympathy, entitlement, loyalty, and our ever-shifting standards of good governance. These forces quietly shape public judgment. They det...