very year on my birthday just like most Nigerians, I take a quiet moment to reflect on what I did during the course of the year. I compare the goals I usually set for myself in the New Year against my actual accomplishments. Sometimes this self-assessment gap analysis reveals to me that I did all right, but sometimes I find that I was no where near my goals; so I go back, make adjustments in anticipation of a better next year.

As Nigeria celebrates her 41st birthday, I decided to take a peek at her accomplishments since the inception of the current democratic dispensation. The result? There is not much to cheer for or write home about. Infact my conclusion is that there exists a gaping chasm between the expectations of the masses and what this current administration has done. Just a few days ago though, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo said that any objective person would agree with him that Nigeria is better off than it was three years ago. I assume he was trying to say that the mere fact that we have a democracy is an achievement in itself. In that case, I unequivocally agree with him. However, if he was referring to actual development in Nigeria since his administration came into power, my questions to the retired General would be: what yardstick did he use for his "unbiased" assessment? In which Nigeria is he living? Oops, I forgot that Presidents live in the ivory tower, conveniently insulated from the problems of the masses.

Jokes apart, I do know that the key problems that Nigeria was grappling with during the military regimes are still with us today; some have even worsened. The naira is still in a tailspin and the central bank of Nigeria just declared that inflation rate jumped from 6.9% in December to 19% in July this year. NEPA is still providing shoddy service; Infact I know a family that had to cut short their vacation in Nigeria because of lack of electricity for 5 straight days! Poverty is still increasing while the cost of goods is rising; my sister tells me that a can of bournvita is now a luxury in Nigeria today. Rate of joblessness is still the same, our roads are in very deplorable conditions. Robbers are still on rampage; just last December, a friend traveled to Nigeria with his family for Christmas celebrations. Along Lagos-Benin road, robbers attacked and dispossessed them of all their belongings including every penny they went home with. This happened right in front of their kids who were probably visiting their nativeland for the first time. An occasion that was supposed to be a joyous one turned into a nightmare.

In case no one has said this to the President, he should know that the spirit of disillusionment hovers over the nation like an evil spell and as a people, we have lost hope in our nation and her leadership.

This commentary is however not aimed at cataloging all our problems once again, it is a rallying cry instead; a clarion call (if you will) to all Nigerians of goodwill to embark on self help community efforts which would culminate in self sufficiency. This would entail looking beyond what our rulers have done to this great country; it would encompass forging the right attitude, the right thoughts, the right words and deeds. It would include looking beyond the injustices, the economic deprivation and stagnation that we have been subjected to. It would mean mustering that last ounce of inner-will, confidence and conviction to start taking matters into our hands.

In 1968, after his loss in the American presidential elections, Hubert Humphrey made a very thought-provoking statement when he declared, " it is not what they took away from you that counts, it is what you do with what you have left; never give up and never give in". This statement speaks for itself; inspite of the difficulties and hardship of the present times, we must remain hopeful for there is always a silver lining even in the darkest of clouds.

Nigeria has some reasons to be thankful; we are now a democracy and that in itself is a blessing for we are at liberty more than ever before, to express what we feel to our leaders. Nigeria is still a big oil producer and with some measure of fiscal discipline in the disbursement of the oil windfall, we would make out okay. We are still blessed with some of the best minds in the world in all fields of endeavor; we could translate that into industries and research institutions for Nigeria. We are a very diverse nation and together we could exploit our diversity to the advantage and advancement of the nation

So how do we start this paradigm shifting? Some of the following are things we could do to assure ourselves a fighting chance in the battle for development:

Collective rejection of further military incursions into our polity: I hope that we have already done this because a government that rules by decrees without accountability to the masses is not a government at all. Because we could not challenge their actions, they put us in economic doldrums while enriching themselves.

We must reject non-performing politicians: The other day, a certain Nigerian group endorsed Gen. Obasanjo and 19 other Governors for a second term bid. This surprised me because Obasanjo has barely served out half of his tenure and has nothing substantive or tangible to show as results. I am not objecting to the right of the group to freedom of expression, but my opinion is that someone is already brandishing "almighty" naira in their faces and they have lost their senses of reasoning. We should start using the electoral process judiciously like our counterparts in advanced countries to make bold statements. Vote for pragmatic leaders who deliver on their promises and promptly vote out officials who do not perform up to expectation. The country suffers when elected officials fail to fulfill the promises upon which the electorate based their decision to vote for them.

Reject ethnic jingoism, religious zealotry as well as politicians who espouse it: Granted, the amalgamation of northern and southern Nigeria threw together a mixture of people without a lot in common. That is now history; the amalgamation has happened and we cannot continue to regret what happened several years ago; we should now learn to live together and exploit our diversity rather than see it as a curse. Recall that America is filled with people of diverse religion, culture, social and economic backgrounds and she is actually bigger, better and greater for all that. We must learn to co-exist no matter our tribal affiliation or religion. These imagined and substantive differences have fanned the embers of religious and tribal riots culminating inexorable in stunted or arrested development in Nigeria. No nation divided against itself would stand. If our differences are bothering us that much, then we should convene the sovereign national conference where we can map out a better blueprint for coexistence.

Having said that though, I must state in no uncertain terms that Sharia and its influence must be resisted. It seems to have the most divisive effect on Nigeria today. We already have a lot of divisive things that militate against Nigeria's ability to unite and develop; Sharia would only serve to widen the existing division more and we must never allow that. Nigeria must continue to maintain her secular status

Encourage those who take initiative in Nigeria: Most great countries are countries that encourage her citizens to take initiative. In Nigeria today, we seem to have this culture that if an idea is not ours, it is not good enough. Recall the case of Dr Abalaka who alleged that he had discovered the cure to AIDS; he was beaten down by some Nigerians, the government and some medical groups. I wonder how many people would be inclined to try new things in Nigeria after seeing what Dr. Abalaka went through? Whether his claim is legitimate or not is not the issue; we should have approached him in such a way as to show everyone that it is okay to take initiative, it is okay to innovate and it is even okay to fail.

Encourage Industrialists: Establishment of small-scale industries is a very viable way of creating employment in an economy. An industry that employs as little as 5 people on a permanent basis is doing the economy a big favor. Most professionals in the Diaspora not only have the means to establish viable industries in Nigeria; they also have the brains and smarts to do it. Also, they have the ability to take foreign investors to Nigeria because the foreigners, who probably work with them, would understand them better. I also feel that there are a lot of Nigerians living in Nigeria who by dint of their hard work could establish viable industries. Some are already doing it; you only need to go to Nnewi to see overwhelming evidence of this. Forgive me for mentioning Nnewi, but I should know I am from there!

Encourage and participate in self-help projects: As we all know, no matter how much government tries, there is no way it can provide everything we need.

Today in Nigeria, our population is being decimated by all kinds of diseases from cancer, AIDS, diabetes to typhoid fever, malaria and the likes. Infact it was just reported that 2.6 million Nigerians out of a population of about 120 million have AIDS! No wonder every time one turns around; someone is dying in Nigeria

Our hospitals are ill equipped to handle these ailments; the so-called teaching hospitals do not have proper equipment for diagnosing these diseases. Doctors in the hospitals are so grossly underpaid that some show up in the hospitals for formality sake; they refer patients to their clinics where even though they try to do their best, they still lack equipment for good work.

Through community self help effort, we can help establish state of the art hospitals through donations of money, expertise and equipment. Even though we are sad that the exchange rate is making a mockery of our naira, we can still take advantage of it by donating some of our dollars, pound sterling, lira, Marks and Francs to our respective communities in Nigeria for hospital and other projects.

A former classmate of mine complained that the reason he stopped attending Nigerian Association meetings here in the USA, is because of too much bickering and inability or outright refusal to embark on meaningful projects back in Nigeria. He told me a personal story of how he was trained in college by a distant relative because his own parents did not have the wherewithal. When he graduated from medical school, he gave back to the community by sponsoring someone else in Nigeria. It may sound small, but it is very significant because little drops of water make a mighty ocean. He also opined that we could build specialist hospitals in Nigeria (through donations) to handle diseases like AIDS, cancer, etc. Nigerian medical doctors in the Diaspora could take turns to offer their expertise to the hospitals by spending one week every three or four years working in these specialist hospitals. With that, they would gradually transfer technology to our homeland.

Rebuild our schools to pre-1977 standards: Education is the mainstay of every nation; even though we have joblessness in Nigeria, we still need a well-educated population. Today, our schools are falling apart both infrastructurally and academically. Our kids have no access to good text books or lab equipment. It is not uncommon these days to come across a chemistry student who has no clue what titration means! This is bad. But since the government has deserted us, we might as well start helping out through organized communal efforts and making donations for reconstruction of schools, equipment of schools with books and laboratory materials. We must rebuild our secondary schools and universities to pre -1977 standards. I know that the newly formed Nigerian Leadership Organization has this as part of their goals and I understand that NUSA either has plans or is already embarking on this type of self help projects. It is laudable and should be encouraged.

There are so many things we could start doing to move Nigeria forward without waiting for the government to start; I have only enumerated a few hoping that well-meaning Nigerians would answer the clarion call. Let us remember that to whom much is given, much is also expected.

I will end this piece with an excerpt from Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" speech given in May of 1964. The society he described in this speech, is the society we should all strive to make Nigeria and it goes like this:

The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning.

The Great Society is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. It is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect not a feared cause of boredom and restlessness. It is a place where the city of man, serves not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce, but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community.

It is place where man can renew contact with nature. It is a place, which honors creation for its own sake and for what it adds to the understanding of the race. It is a place where men are more concerned with the quality of their goals than the quantity of their goods.

GOD BLESS NIGERIA