Nigerian scammers- a generic term I would use to cover 'Yahoo boys', 419ers, credit card fraudsters, putative hackers and others operating from the other side of the moral divide- have acquired a unique international notoriety.

Globally, there appears to be a suspicion that every Nigerian carries a peculiar gene, which endows a certain twisted cleverness- a cleverness that is less oriented towards creating useful products for mankind than in figuring out how to circumvent what others have created. While Nigerians react differently to this labelling, what is often missing in the discussion is how the misdirected skills of our notorious scammers could be harnessed for the good of the society after they have been punished for their crimes.

Some Nigerians appear unduly concerned about the purported bad name this group of people give to the country - as if without them the country's international image would have been any different. We know it is only an irrational person that judges weather just by its inclementine side. To this extent, those who use the activities of the scammers to tar all Nigerians deserve our pity, not our apology. To hide our heads in shame is to give in to blackmail, for the same Nigeria that produces scammers, just like other countries, also has its fair share of geniuses in all walks of life. In any case, scamming did not originate from Nigeria. For instance, Nigeria's notorious Advance Fee Fraud (419) is a mere copycat version of the Spanish Prisoner, a confidence trick dating back to the 1900s, in which a conman tells his potential victim that he is in correspondence with a wealthy person imprisoned in Spain under a false identity, that the alleged prisoner cannot reveal his identity without serious repercussions to him and is therefore relying on the confidence of the trickster to raise money to secure his release. Like the Nigerian 419 scams, the Spanish conman would offer to let the potential victim supply some of the money in exchange for a generous reward once the purported wealthy prisoner is released.

Consider for instance how some of the countries that want to tar all Nigerians as fraudsters treat their own criminals who misapplied their talents.

Kevin Mitnick, who called himself "hacker poster boy," was once described by the Department of Justice as "the most wanted computer criminal in United States history." His 'breakthroughs' included exploiting the Los Angeles bus punch card system to get free rides and breaking into America's national defence warning systems. So notorious was Mitnick that his cybercrime exploits were detailed in two movies: Freedom Downtime and Takedown. He was eventually apprehended, and served five years in prison for his crimes. However, when he was released he was quickly rehabilitated and the society looked beyond his criminal past to the skills that aided his crime. He became a famous a computer security consultant, author and speaker. What would have happened to Kevin Mitnick if he was a Nigerian?

There is equally the case of Kevin Poulsen - also known as Dark Dante. US authorities began to pursue Poulsen after he hacked into a federal investigation database. And while he was being pursued, he further incensed the authorities by hacking into federal computers for wiretap information. He was eventually captured and sentenced to five years in prison. After serving his time, he was quickly rehabilitated in recognition of his special skills. He became a journalist and a senior editor for Wired News. One of his remarkable write-ups was on how he used his hacking skills to identify 744 sex offenders with MySpace profiles. What would have happened to Kevin if he was a Nigerian? In fact, in many countries, known computer hackers have been employed by software companies as 'white hats' to help them test their systems.

But it is not only among hackers that people who misused their talents are given a second chance in the West. Consider the case of Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins who turned into crime early in life. At the age of 13, he was mugging people and was stabbed three times. At 17, Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in prison for nine felonies. However after serving almost five years in prison, he was released and guided into boxing. Americans looked beyond his criminal past as he became the Middle Weight champion of the world, and reigned for a record ten years. A majority of America's distinguished boxers including Oliver McCall, James Toney, Mike Tyson, Jameel McCline and Riddick Bowe served terms in prison before discovering boxing and channelling the aggression that defined their criminal past into the sport. The same is true of a number of the famous NBL players.Would these people have had a second chance if they were Nigerians?

Recently we read that Nigerian scammers have started hacking into people's email accounts, including the Hotmail account of the British Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, who was said to have been stranded in Lagos, and needed a 'soft loan' to help him settle his hotel bill and get back home. Looking beyond the crime, which must be condemned, there is also a certain glee that Nigerians are now beginning to join the technological revolution, that despite the rot in our education system some kids out there (if it was actually done by Nigerians) have quickly acquired the technical savvy to hack into email accounts. Then there is also the audacity of taking it to a British minister! Unfortunately much of the discussion has focused on the criminal aspects of the act, with nothing heard about harnessing the twisted talents of the fraudsters after they have been punished for their crime.

Is it not time we engaged in honest discussions about how the nation could utilise the skills of its notorious scammers, as other countries do, after they have been punished for their crimes? For instance as Nigerian banks begin to embrace a credit card culture, will they have job opportunities for some of those who had the twisted skills to perpetrate credit card frauds and who have been punished for their crimes? Is there any chance of gainful employment for some of the 419ers and Yahoo Boys? Or must we continue to throw out the the baby with the bath water?

Jideofor Adibe is editor of the multidisciplinary journal, African Renaissance and publisher of the London-based Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd