Interviewed last week for a British radio program on childhood obesity—British children are on track for the gold medal for fatness—I happened to hear a Nigerian sports journalist who said that his fellow countrymen were furious that no Nigerian competitor won a medal at the Olympic Games. After all, he continued, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with the largest financial resources; the government ought to spend more on sports facilities.

The interviewer very properly asked him whether the government might...