I promised to air my second peace on pollution in Nigeria this week but I decided to shelve that for next week and instead comment about an issue that has boggled my mind for a while.

hen Ngigegate exploded in Anambra state in June, many shouted themselves hoarse - government functionaries, writers, commentators and the masses. It was good to see Nigerians, in one voice, condemning an obvious evil. This writer was one of those that lamented the situation in a poem titled, "Oh, my Anambra state" and a follow-up commentary called, "Divide and dominate- Obj's subliminal policy toward Anambra and S.E states". At the same time, one had predicted that, in typical Nigerian way, nothing would come out of it all. I made the prognostication because the Nigerian system is predictable: something happens, a lot of people jump up and down or write about it for that moment; meanwhile, the politician or person who caused the problem lays low for a while and before long, amnesia kicks in on the masses and they forget what had happened. In the long run, the hullabaloo dies down and the culprit goes free only to repeat the same crime again.

I recall when Umaro Dikko's term as a minister came to an end as a result of government overthrow, Nigerians bitterly complained about his very corrupt ways and how he siphoned Nigeria's money to Britain. The government even tried to abduct him, from London, but failed. Well, after all the talk died down and a new government came in, Umaro Dikko quietly came back to Nigeria and was untouched. He blended so well into the society that before long, he mastered the effrontery to criticize activities in Nigeria as if he did any better when he was in power. That is now history and he is living large wherever he is now. Need I remind Nigerians that no one talks about Umaru Dikko and his corruption these days.

One also recalls when General Babangida refused to let go of power and continued to postpone the dates he set for transition to democratic rule. Again, many were shouting themselves hoarse - politicians, writers, commentators, the populace and all. Infact, as if what he was doing was not bad enough, he annulled the elections that purportedly produced Abiola as president! Again Nigerians cried foul, began to write and shout again. When he finally relinquished power, he did it his own way by foisting Ernest Shonekan on the masses- a travesty. All the shouting started dying down while the maradonic General maintained a low-key disposition in the typical Nigerian politicians' style. As collective amnesia again gradually kicked in on Nigerians, the complaints against Babangida and his despotic tendencies started dissipating. Today, Babangida is a free man. Many have forgotten his crimes against the nation; he even has the temerity to contemplate running for office and there are people who are ready to support him. In civilized countries, his sins would not have been forgotten easily, the government or even non-governmental organizations would not have relented until the man was tried for corruption and other ills and jailed. Again, Maradona understands the psyche of Nigerians; they would relent after a while and so he now has his sights set on 2007 with no serious questions asked.

Then came General Olusegun Obasanjo; the issue of recovering looted funds from ex-military men became a mantra he dangled before Nigerians. He said that there would be "no sacred cows" because he would ensure that Nigeria's money was collected. Many, including my humble self were fooled by this "born again Christian" and his promise. Internally, I was full of hope that the man from Otta, who had tasted the bad pill of dictators by being thrown into jail, was going to clean house. My first disappointment came when Justice Oputa failed to bring Babangida, Buhari and others to the Oputa panel and all Obasanjo could say was, "go to Oputa panel and clear your names". That statement was instructive; it showed that he was not expecting them to be found guilty of anything; it showed that he wanted them to go there just as a token measure. When it became obvious that Obasanjo's mantra of "no sacred cows" was indeed a subterfuge, Nigerians again started shouting themselves hoarse, condemning him and his deceitful ways. Of course, Obasanjo toed the line of his predecessors; he kept quiet about the issue, knowing that it would soon go away and it did. Today, one barely hears about the Oputa debacle or the loot recovery effort.

	This is a nation where the common criminal is instantly set on fire but those who rob the country of billions, with the pen, go free. This is a nation where people are denigrated just because of their ethnicity, social status or academic standing. This is a nation where your chances of succeeding nationally as a politician depends on the tribe you hail from.

The press, commentators or the populace barely talk or write about the issues why? because amnesia, as usual, has again kicked in and the issue has receded far back into the collective memory of Nigerians. Today, those that stole Nigeria's money are either king makers or aspiring kings themselves. They are living large and waiting for another turn to do what they do best. Simply put, in Nigeria, there is no accountability, you can commit the most egregious crime but as long as you have enough patience to lay low for a while, Nigerians would forget your crimes and you would be home free. That is still the politics of today.

Fast forward to Ngigegate. When the "governor" of Anambra state was abducted, Nigerians cried foul, every one jumped into the fray and criticized the act - the masses, politicians, government functionaries, journalists and commentators. Every time one opened the papers or turned to the Internet for news, the issue was being discussed. This writer predicted that the "hot air" from Nigerians would come to pass. Again, Obasanjo dribbled Nigerians the maradonic way. At first, he refused to comment about it but when he was forced to, he called a national catastrophe a "PDP affair". His next step was to keep mum about the issue, waiting for the customary amnesia to kick in on Nigerians, where they would forget that such a thing ever happened. That phase is now here; Nigerians are beginning to see the matter as something in the past; some have even said that they are tired of discussing or reading about it. The central figure in the case, Chris Uba, has reportedly fled to America like Governor Mbadinuju did. One would not be surprised to hear that Chris Uba was advised by the presidency to "go and cool off in America" just like Mbadinuju alleged that Obasanjo asked him to "go and cool off for a while" and then come back for an appointment.

As the cooling off period is taking place, all the organizations that threatened fire and brimstone, against the government, if the Ngigegate matter was not treated as treasonable felony, have started to soft-pedal, backpedal or exhibit lack of interest. The PDP is sensing victory in this matter and so the party is working towards reconciliation! Before long, the masses would be told that the matter has been settled and Uba would quietly return and politics as usual would commence. He would start collecting, from Anambra state treasury, the money he invested in the election of his political god son, Ngige. This is why Nigeria's development is stunted, genuine criticism is never sustained; politicians know that all they need to do to survive a screw up is to be patient and the weary masses would cave in.

The reader may ask what this writer means by collective amnesia? He may want to argue that Nigerians do not forget the ills that politicians visit on them but that they give up when nothing comes out of their complaints. Exactly this writer's point. It is not that the masses easily forget, it is simply that after shouting themselves hoarse, for a VERY short while, over the actions or inactions of politicians without immediate results, they accept defeat. They believe that nothing would ever come out of the case and so push the matter, advertently or inadvertently, into distant crannies of their memories. The saying goes that perseverance rewards and Bongos Ikwue, in his celebrated song, stated that nothing good comes easy. A combination of both wise sayings dictates that if Nigerians want results, they must be prepared to work long and hard for it. Sustained court battles, sustained boycotts, sustained peaceful demonstrations, sustained writings and petitions, that is what Nigeria needs. Shouting or writing about an issue for one month and backing off because of the absence of immediate results is simply not good enough. The absence of sustained efforts to make politicians pay for their transgressions is the reason why they do not find it necessary to mend their sinful ways. They know that no crime is too egregious for Nigerians to "forgive or forget"

People like Babangida, Buhari, Chris Uba, Ngige, Abubakar, Umaru Dikko, Obasanjo, Nzeribe, Muhammed Abacha, Mustapha and others would be cooling off in jail were they living in advanced societies. In the least, they would have become politically damaged goods and no one would even touch them with a ten-foot pole. In the United Sates, politicians become damaged goods just for making the wrong remarks- remember Newt and others. Politicians go to jail or resign for taking inappropriate gifts or just for contemplating doing so. If they are not hounded out of office by the masses, the press would continue to dig into their activities until there is ample reason for their excommunication from their parties. Unfortunately, it is not the same in Nigeria.

When I make reference to the American system, some tell me that it took America 200 years to get where they are. My question is, must it take Nigeria 200 years to dig out of the hole we are in? Lets look at a simple analogy here: It took decades for the computer to be developed and perfected, does that mean that if Nigeria wants to build a computer today, it would also take decades? The answer is an emphatic NO. They just have to buy an existing computer, disassemble it and study its components and then proceed to develop their version based on what they learnt from the existing model. They may even improve on the flaws of the existing model. With the will and the right minds, this would not take up to a year; inotherwords, they would simply adopt an existing technology and make it even better.

Democracy is an existing governmental model, Nigeria has known about it since time immemorial and many Nigerians, including those in power today, with PhDs, have studied this model of government for a long time. They understand it like the backs of their hands. It took America 200 years to bring this model to an acceptable level because they practically started from scratch. Nigeria is not starting from the scratch and does not need to. All Nigeria needs to do is to adopt the model, make some modifications to account for differences in culture and traditions and the country would be on its way. Part of democracy is that people are punished for criminal offences no matter their social standing or wealth. Why must it take 200 years for Nigeria to learn to do that?

Nigerians must stop thinking that certain things that work in advanced countries cannot work in Nigeria. A contemporary once said to me, "our mental capacity has not developed to the level of other nations". To me, that was an insult on Nigeria and the entire black race. He forgot that many Nigerians are holding their own in different walks of life in advanced nations. Mental capacities are the same, what is different is the willingness and perseverance to challenge the status quo. Americans would for example criticize an errant politician and would patiently do so until the person caves in. In Nigeria, once we do not get results for one month, we quit. If the type of crime such as the one we just witnessed in Anambra state must be deterred, the condemnation must continue.

If Chris Uba is eventually left to walk free, if Ngige is left to assume that he was a saint even though he signed away the peoples' treasury, if Chuma Nzeribe is not prosecuted, if Eucharia Azodo is exonerated even after truncating government protocol, they will become more emboldened to do it again. If Babangida, Abubakar, Buhari, Umaro Dikko and others are left to enjoy their loot, if Obasanjo is left to dribble Nigerians in his buddy's maradonic style, they would all continue to take the country for granted. Enough already.

While I take offence at the seeming indifference of Nigerians towards crimes committed against them, I must confess that it is not easy to continue to push when the result always seems to be negative. It is even harder in a nation like Nigeria, where the rulers have made it difficult for the citizens to be proud of it, to be patriotic or to have something meaningful to look forward to. This is a nation where people's votes do not count, where hard work is rarely rewarded, where education does not guarantee success or at least put your foot in the door. This is a nation where the common criminal is instantly set on fire but those who rob the country of billions, with the pen, go free. This is a nation where people are denigrated just because of their ethnicity, social status or academic standing. This is a nation where your chances of succeeding nationally as a politician depends on the tribe you hail from. In short, the nation does not give her citizens the needed sense of belonging and purpose.

In the United States, I often hear people talk about their willingness to die for their country. Why not? After all, they have a stake in the country, their votes count during elections, if they work hard, they can buy homes, buy cars, get good jobs, get good health and retirement benefits, own the best brand of computers, television sets and more. People in the lower rung of the economic or social ladder can successfully sue the high and mighty if they are wronged. If these types of benefits do not spur someone into being a patriot, I do not know what else will. In our case, no Nigerian I know has ever told me that he would be willing to die for it and this is because they have no stake in the country.

Most countries invest in the education and well being of its young because they would be the leaders of the morrow but it is not so in Nigeria. Teachers' strikes and the absence of amenities have rendered public education in the country almost worthless. I have read writings put together by JSS 6 students and I marvel at the level of deterioration that education has seen. Some blame the students, but this writer blames the system that failed to provide an enabling environment for studying. Many students now go through school as a formality knowing that it is no longer a ticket to success because there are simply no jobs out there. As a result, they care less about what they learn or what grades they make. Why would such people, disappointed and disenchanted in the system, be patriotic? Why would they want to keep on trying to make sacrifices for a better nation when the system shows them that they have nothing to gain? Why would they feel patriotic in a nation where politicians expend government money as if they are using their private money and yet physical infrastructure like roads are suffering, the health sector is deteriorating and robbers are all over unchallenged? Why would anyone want to die for a nation that provides unequal opportunity for its citizens?

My fellow writer, Dr. Tonye David West, once wrote an article where he talked about a contemporary from northern Nigeria, "This is the story of Sahab & I", who went to school here in the United States with him. He described how the man got an excellent job in Nigeria even before he finished his degree program. Many Nigerians from other parts of Nigeria, especially the south east and south south, cannot boast of the same treatment. In my more than 16 years of sojourn in the states, I have met Nigerians of all ethnic persuasion, but I have never met someone from Northern Nigeria! This is not an accident, it is because the few people from Northern Nigeria, who go to school here, always return after their schoolwork to take up plum government jobs. Inotherwords, their ethnic origin guarantees them immediate success in a country where others, who are even more qualified than they are, have no jobs and are suffering and dying. This is a travesty, yet it is the Nigerian way and is part of the reason why people are disenchanted and give in easily- they have nothing to look forward to.

It is time that Nigerians asked for their rights in a sustained manner. They should ask for equality in the treatment of all, they should ask for the prosecution and incarceration of those that looted the treasury, they should ask the president to treat the Anambra debacle with the urgency and sincerity it deserves, they should persevere as they ask for their rights because perseverance rewards. Ngigegate is a big test for Nigerians, if pressure is relented, that travesty will go the way of others and the vicious cycle will continue, the cycle of rape on democracy, corruption, nepotism, porapoism, enslavement of the majority by the rich and privileged. In that case, Nigeria will still not be worthy to die for. Think about that folks, think long and hard this time.

HERE I STAND!