Nigeria, June 1 -- "It is time to move beyond rhetorical hope.Nigeria's future cannot be built on beautiful aspirations and emotive patriotism, but must be anchored in a collective demand for transparency, justified expectation, equity, responsible governance, and freedom from want on the many needs of living a good life."

What is patriotism? One definition of it which has gained currency but which is always (deliberately?) misquoted, misinterpreted, and misapplied to suit the personal interests of those concerned is the one popularized by US naval officer, Commodore Stephen Decatur. His exact words were: "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong".

Sheer patriot...