Nigeria, May 26 -- In Nigeria, to be average is to be celebrated. To be mediocre is to be a messiah. A civil servant arrives at 11 a.m. and leaves by 2 p.m. and is hailed for "trying." A lecturer returns scripts after six months and is called "committed." A minister completes a single road and is praised like Mandela.

Excellence is not the standard. It is the exception. And those who dare to raise the bar are often labeled "too foreign," "too proud," or simply "too much."

This is the Cult of Mediocrity. It is a belief system. A national gospel that teaches our children to aim low and be applauded. That whispers to innovators, "Don't shine too brightly, they'll dim you." That tells the honest man to watch his back not because of thieves,...