Lagos:   To illustrate the abysmal failure of the Nigerian intellectual, let us look at his approaches to the major problems facing Nigeria. Corruption. Many intellectuals have capitulated to the love of lucre, but before they do, their approach to corruption is that of buck-passing. They attend fora abroad where the issue of corruption is being discussed and sit nodding in self-pity while the entire garb of corruption is being dumped, like toxic waste, on Nigeria.

They deliberately fail to ask questions about who introduced that virus in Africa. Questions about the forms of political corruption being practiced by more powerful countries, especially in the West - like why they remove governments at will and implant stooges. Our intellectuals even fail to conduct a holistic analysis of the problem and how it relates to African countries. Like the fact that most of the corruption is a manifestation of a culture clash. But if we were really interested in solving a problem, would we shut our minds to any solution?

The Nigerian intellectual has sat by in obeisance, while the burden of corruption has been worn like a lodestone around the neck of this country. Corruption has become a psychological hangover; a curse which we feel afflicted with and without the breaking of which we believe we cannot move on. The problem is we do not have a clue as to where to start from, and we seem to descend further into helplessness. This is a classic case of failure of intellect, and the buck can no longer be passed.

Another instance is our problems with ethnicity and religion. As I write Jos has just returned to calm. But the rage seethes like never before. And then I receive a text from some educated 'christian' friends; "Please don't buy fast food/drinks (poisoned) from muslim hawkers especially near church premises/convention grounds. That is their new attack plan in Abuja. Please spread this to your loved ones. It's an extension of the Jos crises...". This dangerous rubbish was crafted by someone who went to school. The text alone can send us all to hell in this country. What if the country broke into smithereens, would suspicion, prejudice and distrust end at our dreamland regional levels? No way. If we solidified this dangerous jaundiced thinking, say where will Muslim Yorubas belong after the breakup?

You see, intellectuals do not perpetrate mayhem themselves, but they are the ones who utilise their fantastic power of articulation to explain to street urchins what the other side said and did, and why they should be attacked. But all the Nigerian intellectual has to do, is to invert that power of articulation and do positive things with it, but he won't. He is enjoying his day passing the buck and complaining about 'leadership'. The Nigerian intellectual knows all too well just how this is a country of brothers. Etymology, the study of the origin of words, which I picked up from my early days of playing Scrabble and studying the Chambers dictionary, shows that many societies in Nigeria have been interacting for too long. Yoruba language goes as far as Ogoja, Hausa goes as far as Yorubaland. Igbo language is replete in Tiv and so on.

But no, our intellectuals are keenly focused on what divides us as a people. They suffer from half-education, even if they acquired professorships. They are imbued with a high dose of myopia. And on many occasions, they have sold their souls to those who want to see Nigeria and the black race in a permanently vanquished state, therefore they work actively towards the disintegration of the country, plus the ensuing chaos that will lead to the loss of many human lives. Yet it is the intellectuals that will save this country. It is intellectuals, not cannon-wielding generals that have advanced the cause of every other country that is great. It is intellectuals, some Nigerians among them, and not political 'leaders', who made the USA the great country it is today. They are the ones, who articulate strategy for the US domination of the world. Intelligence rules the world, but our intellectuals here have refused to seize the high pedestal of strategy. Even the wars that many of our intellectuals daily drum up, will have to be ended around coffee tables - in dialogue.

This is not an advocacy to the 'blowing of more grammar', but like Jelani said, the power of imagination has been grossly underestimated, especially in Nigeria. I challenge our columnists, journalists, leaders of opinion, academicians, to invert their thinking towards the positive, despite all the challenges around us, for just one month, let us see the positive differences it will make in the life of this country. Open any newspaper today, and 90 per cent of the articles and reportage will have a tribal, personal, political or religious agenda. No country can be great this way. Editors can also help by 'autocratically' deselecting write-ups that promote division and engender hate. We have problems in Africa, especially Nigeria, but we should not promote destructive hate among our people. I have realised that one can spend a whole lifetime just seeing only the bright side of things.

Our intellectuals have failed us to date in three ways - by shirking their own political franchise and responsibilities and buck-passing, by promoting division and hate quite actively, and by not getting their heads around the surfeit of problems that we face, which will eventually have to be solved by them, through the sheer power of positive and creative thinking and strategy. But they can change. Immediately. The blame for our current state of morass rests entirely on their shoulders. Nigerians learn more than any other black people on Earth. I've been to London Business School and Havard for short courses and all I meet are Nigerians. They get all the best knowledge and dismally fail to translate it to a better country for all. They tragically fail to realise the power of knowledge, imagination, and determination like Jelani said. They should prove my hypothesis wrong.

*  Tope Fashua, an economist wrote in from Abuja