Many who read my writings and understand the issues I concentrate on often call to encourage and offer their own ideas and contributions, while some call to ask why I relentlessly continue to bother myself with Nigeria and its numerous problems. Today, I am going to discuss the reasons why Nigeria means so much to me as a person, and why I have never taken the insult of presenting my black face at any embassy counter in a desperate quest for visa.

God in His infinite wisdom chose to put me here; therefore, I will live here, do my work here and strive to make my environment better. As I understand it, it is my spiritual and religious duty to be a positive change agent in this beautiful land that God has planted me. I am one of those who believe that the Almighty made no mistake in putting together this glorious nation called Nigeria. Despite its many imperfections, I have no other country to call my own and so long as I live, I will strive to make it better. I remain a patriot and insist on the virtue of nationalism among the elite and the populace as a whole.

Even if a million devils strive to turn Nigeria into hell, I will make of it the best I can. All those who give up because of the many challenges of good governance are cowards. Nothing of lasting value comes easy and as the saying goes, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." There is no way God will come down and solve our many problems for us? We have got to do it ourselves. Just as Franz Fanon said, everyone must join in the effort or keep quiet and live in the mess.

I opt to propagate the spirit of nationalism and awaken the consciousness of as many friends as it is possible to. That is why I have, for years now, volunteered my time and speeches on patriotism at schools, clubs and other gatherings. It is such talks that have given rise to "UP NIGERIA" campaign. Thankfully, many groups and organisations have picked up interest in it. I am deeply gladdened by the fact that many churches have taken up the campaign on patriotism and such churches must be commended. Many do not realise that Nigeria is far much more essential to their well-being than they can understand.

It is up to us to work and remake the nation. Only the ordinary man in the street can force the enthronement of good governance. It is rather apparent that office holders work for their own benefits; therefore, whatever good we desire, we must seek to establish by ourselves. The emergence of a responsive govemment is up to you and me. We have seen how corrupt our leaders are. Consider, for instance, the charges of corruption brought against some governors: that is why one should be appreciative of the efforts of EFCC thus far. Granted that they stumbled in the past, such missteps cannot obliterate all the good work the EFCC had hitherto done. The EFCC is working under very difficult circumstances, so it deserves our support.

It is important to note that such large-scale brigandage can only occur because we let the perpetrators get away with it. More so, we have got to realise that no matter what the EFCC does, the bottom line is that unless the citizenry put up some resistance to the looting, the wicked shall continue in their iniquity. It is up to us to stop these looters from wreaking further havoc on our collective psyche. Unless we, the citizens, stand up and demand some responsibility and accountability, this national embarrassment will continue.

Is it that we are condemned to mediocrity and penury? The reason for our nation's backwardness is the fact that there are very few patriots amongst the political class. In short, individuals hardly work for our collective good.

Our roads may collapse so long as those who rule continue to enjoy their privileges. The citizen may as well rot in poverty. History teaches that good governance comes as a result of citizens' awareness and ceaseless agitation. As they say, "vigilance is the price of liberty" and prosperity. It is also clear to all and sundry that the nation is underperforming and the masses are the worse for it. The failure of our nation is not only a failure of the political class; it is also our failure as citizens to hold the political class responsible. Most elected office holders are simply not doing what they were elected to do. They only concentrate on primitive amassing of wealth.

We must demand policy commitments from office holders. The time for armchair complaints are over; this is the time for action. Now is the time to stand and be counted amongst the patriots of Nigeria. Now is the time to seek good governance by ensuring that only the service-minded get into power. As the good book says, let's join hands and fight the good fight of freedom from tyranny. Only we can free our country from further dictatorship. Those who look towards Western powers for salvation are living in illusion. What did the foreign powers do to save Somalia or Sudan?

It is our duty to demand accountability from our leaders. When they fail to render account to us, we must be ready to embark on constitutionally approved democratic actions such as peaceful protests and street action. The constitution gives us the right to protest as loudly as we like. We have a right to go to the streets when grammar fails to produce the desired effect.

Have you heard that 50% of all public water pumped in Nigeria is tainted and potentially contaminated? Have you also heard that 55% of all deaths in Nigeria are traceable to water borne infections and contaminations? According to WHO and UNICEF findings, there is water contamination of emergency proportions in our beloved country. Trust our leaders. They are not bothered, after all, they have bottled water to quench their thirst while the rest of us may guzzle water contaminated with faecal matter. I hope no one will accuse the world respected WHO and UNICEF of being disgruntled and envious of all the so-called success recorded in Nigeria under the abracadabra reforms.

Have you heard that Nigeria has the highest maternal mortality rate a little lower than India? Have you also heard that our beloved country has the worst health system in the world? We are worse than even war-torn Sudan and Liberia.