I believe we are in the dawn of a new day in Nigeria. Not because I am an apologist of Goodluck Jonathan or an antagonist of Umaru Yar’Adua, but for the fact that with the inauguration of Jonathan as acting president, the yearning of all right thinking Nigerians that things should be done right is being fulfilled.

I carry my green passport with pride anywhere I go since I have no other country on earth to claim citizenship of.

Secondly, I believe that no matter what happens, some of us must be willing to be the change we desire to see in the nation. When we all change, Nigeria will change. Nobody will respect us if we do not respect ourselves.

On a recent trip to the United States, I had some experiences that would show how we have allowed the dysfunctionality of a few of us to dent the reputation of the rest of us.

It starts from the airport where everyone involved in getting you on your flight OPENLY and BRAZENLY solicites you for one tip or the other. From the airline attendants checking your passport before check-in to the officials at the end of the security check-in line, the story is the same. You ask yourself if these people do not get paid for their job. One of the uniformed officers – a lady, had the audacity to actually ask if I was not going to pay tithes to her.

When I told her that I was a pastor, she answered with the scripture that we pastors afterall teach that, it is more blessed to give than to receive! When did we get to this sorry state?  I embarked on the trip because of my long-time dreaming of being in a position to help as many young people as possible to become economically empowered through a strategic process of job-creation.

Before I left Nigeria, I noticed that all the communication I had with the people I was going to discuss with had been treated with little regard. I thought someone in the office at the other end was just being nasty. I decided that I would reserve a piece of my mind for them and give it to them on arrival in Orlando Florida.

At the point of entry in Atlanta, I went breezily through immigration and customs with relative ease. But when I was leaving Atlanta two days later for Orlando Florida, the experience was not so pleasant. As soon as these security guys saw my passport, I was asked to stand aside for special security check and made to pass through a special screening session. Nothing disrespectful I must admit. In anticipation of such incidents, I do not only travel light now, I also get to the airport at least two to three hours before my flight.

When I eventually got to meet the CEO of the company I had gone to discuss business with, he was pleasantly surprised. Before then, he had the impression that Nigerians were not people you could trust or do business with. When I pressed on to know why and how he had come to that conclusion, he regaled me with stories of how he receives scam (419) mails from Nigeria almost on a daily basis.

Not only that, many people (and he printed them all out for me on his computer!) from Nigeria had sent him mails requesting to do business with his organisation and you could tell that many of such enquiries had fraudulent intents. For the two days that I spent in Florida, he treated me with such courtesy and generous hospitality that made it appear as if he was trying to atone for his negative impression of Nigerians and Nigeria.

We subsequently had useful discussions and the result of that will be finding manifestation in the weeks to come. I have seen too much poverty and lack around me in a country that has no business being in want, that I am tired of just looking on and not being able to do something about it. Join me in prayers for the success of the venture.

I believe and look forward to the New Nigeria where public officers will know that they represent all of us. A Nigeria where young people would be able to channel their energies and intellect to productive and profitable endeavours  instead of waiting for someone to fall prey to a cheap scheme that messes up the corporate image of an entire nation.

I am hopeful of a new Nigeria  where power becomes a platform of service and not personal aggrandisement. A new Nigeria to which people from all over the world will be attracted for business.

A new Nigeria where you don’t even think about power failure.  How does it begin? It starts when YOU, yes YOU, decide to always stand for what is right even if you are in the minority. Who knows, you could be the one to change someone’s negative impression about the rest of us!

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!