Ever attempted to make a telephone call to Nigeria? Did you have fun placing your call? How many attempts did you make prior to being connected to the number that you called? Did the whole process of remote connectivity to Nigeria frustrate you? If your answer is yes, then welcome to the club, you are not alone.

Making a telephone call to Nigeria from the Diaspora is like changing the culture of the Nigerian government such as elimination of 10 percent derivation or bribe given under the table to government officials by private contractors who are awarded government contracts. To use another analogy, instant connection to Nigeria by telephone is as difficult as having a chicken urinate - so goes an Igbo proverb.

Nigeria is a vibrant nation rich in manpower and mineral resources. Yet, its leaders have failed to adequately utilize the abundant resources at their disposal. In an article titled Nigerian Government list: help or official blackmail? This author argued that Nigerian government missed the golden opportunity to entice its citizens in the Diaspora to come home and help advance the country. The author has equally argued that the lack of interest on these professionals has resulted in their being entrenched in the communities where they live. They have built great careers, bought houses and are comfortably raising their children. As a result, it was argued that it took the Nigerian government too long to realize the need to bring home these Diaspora professionals and that because of its slow pursuit, they have to compete with other interested parties on the Diaspora services in the free market.

Months later, the government responded by the creating NIDO. Whether or not the government action had a direct relationship with the above referenced article is not at issue; however, the fact that a culmination of articles from Nigerians in the Diaspora compelled Nigerian government action should be recognized. NIDO was charged with the responsibility of scouting Nigerians or creating a medium by which Nigerians in the Diaspora would be recognized and encouraged to come home to assist in the development of the nation. There have been articled on the pros and cons of the status of this government-sponsored organization. In any event, this writer is always suspicious of government intents when they assume the responsibility of controlling every aspect of Nigerian lives and any monopolistic tendencies. Such (control) syndrome sounds like a culture and behavior associated with the disgraced and discredited communist orientation.

Without digressing so much, it is worthy to know that Nigeria with its large population should be striving towards self-sufficiency. They have the brains, natural resources that can be converted into money, but are being mismanaged by lethargic policy makers and top government officials who cares for themselves only. Nigeria suffers from chronic lack of prioritization, poor leadership that lack creativity, foresightedness, dedication and continuity. For instance, in the 21^st century and with the advent of remote connectivity, investors that the country is trying too hard to woo does not have to be in Nigeria physically to do business. Nigerian workers do not have to be physically present at their work sites to perform their duties. These activities or functions could be done via telephone remote system.

For instance, the Europeans use E3 line system and North America use F3 line system. Since a European country colonized Nigeria, most of its commerce (exports) was molded to fit into the Nigerian market. That explains why products bought in North American have to be converted to Nigerian standard whereas, those from Europe are not. Given the Nigerian tendency to over dependent on ready-made and easy lifestyle, the communication frequency therefor exists. All that the country’s leaders have to do is to take advantage of the technological availability by extending and improving connectivity to Nigeria.

Majority of Nigerian telephone sets dates back to the 1950s. This writer is surprised that antique hunters have not swamped the country in search of collector's items that would fetch millions of dollars at the developed country’s antique markets. Most of the Nigerian telephones were located at the local Post Offices. Less than one percent of Nigerians have telephones in their homes. In order to use the telephone, citizens have to visit the Post Office, pay some money and have them connect to the other part of the world. Now there is a proliferation of telephone cards, which is very expensive. But in most cases, a card caller can hardly complete two sentences before the line goes dead.

Prior to heading to the local post office to place a call from Nigeria, the caller must have a pre-arrangement with the recipient of the telephone call regarding time and date of the call. The recipient of the call in the Diaspora has to sit by the phone and wait for the call. The worst case occurs when the call is being made from the Diaspora to Nigeria. It takes an average of ten dials to get through. Each time one dials, the recorded message on the other end inform the caller that the line is congested and to try later. Telephone calls are some of the things that people in the developed and most developing countries take for granted. Telephone eliminates the need to be physically present in order to have a conversation with someone. It provides a quick way of sending messages and reporting an event.

So why not communicate by mail? That is even worse. Sending a mail to Nigeria is like throwing your mail in the garbage. The reason being that 1) some of the Nigerian Postal workers are not dedicated to their jobs. They see it as just another job, and often they are not paid for months; 2) Nigeria lacked effective and efficient City planning. Houses were built anywhere there is enough space to squeeze in as much houses as possible. Houses are often built at the middle of the street, thus cutting off the street into two. To compound this lack of planning is poor numbering system. The street numbers are not in logical and sequential order. For instance, number one would be at the beginning of the street and number 2 may be one mile away and in between, there are disorganized and disjointed street numbers. These are minute problems that does not need a rocket scientist to fix, but because those who make the policies were more preoccupied with 10 percent bribe, they have ignored it or is not on their priority list.

That leaves the people at the mercy of the telephone system. By the time the call gets through, the person on the other side of the world would be gone. They would rationalize their decision to leave based on the assumption that the caller from Diaspora forgot to call, or because they were exhausted of waiting for more than two hours for the call, unaware that the caller was making every effort to reach them. The overall conclusion would be that it would not happen. So they would look to another day with hope that they would eventually communicate with that person either directly or indirectly. The whole exercise is very frustrating to say the least.

Meanwhile, the elite residing in Nigeria does have cellular telephones. Most of them have telephones installed in their homes at the government expense. These people are so detached from the reality of life in Nigeria to the point that they do not know whether people exits in Nigeria. They are like in the giant in the mist of dwarfs in the Guilivers Travel novel. They frequent America and Europe; yet, they are slow to absorb the technology that prevails on them to go to those places in the first place. They are ignorant of the need to alleviate the stress on the Nigerian people whose resources pay their salaries.

Not too long ago, the Obasanjo government announced that telephone connections in Nigeria would cost 15,000 Naira. About two months ago, a close relative of mine subscribed for telephone services at Lagos. He was asked to pay 100,000.00 Naira for a basic installation and services, that is 85,000.00 more than the government said that they would charge the people. This cost does not include bribes that have to be paid before the installer would visit or in order to procure telephone equipment. Something must be wrong somewhere and we, the citizen of Nigeria had hoped that by electing Obasanjo that Nigerian pains and sufferings would be minimized.

The Nigerian government needs to expedite delivery of all the promises made two years ago. The Nigerian Parliamentarians and the Executive branch have an obligation to satisfy the needs of the Nigerian people. The non-challant attitude with which the present administration is handling the state affairs is reprehensible and cannot earn them respect or commitment by those in the Diaspora who would like to help rebuild the nation. The attitude and relationship between Nigerian elite and the masses from the perspective of the leaders borders on them and us.

Obasanjo's government should listen to the harmless but piognant clamors and rationality of the masses for effective leadership. They should listen to voices of reason that attempt to redirect the ineptness and lack of direction by the Nigerian policy makers that is inimical to the Nigerian unity and well being. In fact, this writer has received hundreds of mails since he joined the Internet pontification community on Nigeria and African affairs. The majority of these emails wanted to know whether those who are in charge in Nigeria have access to the wonderful suggestions posted on the Internet. Another interesting question from mostly none Nigerian audience wanted to know why Nigerian is not seriously recruiting the manpower, their citizens living in the Diaspora to help them in their pursuit of modernization.

To these questions, this writer shrugs his shoulder and throws his hands on the air. A sigh of exasperation and frustration. It is not much of not knowing the answer, but the fact that those policy makers in Nigeria know what to do, but ignore it despite the fact that most of them are American and European trained. They just cannot detach themselves from the norms that have continued to paralyze the country.

Perhaps, those in power should respond. All that is left of me to say is: may God shed light into Nigeria so that they would emerge from darkness. In short, if one doubt the effectiveness of remote connectivity in this day and age, ask Chuck Odili, one of the pioneers on Nigerian web sites that has served the Nigerian community and her friends over the years.

Meanwhile, good luck on your next telephone call to Nigeria from the Diaspora.