On Monday, 20 July 2001, at a remembrance lecture and book lunch in honor of the late Lt. Col. Francis Adekunle Fajuyi in Ibadan, Nigeria, Major General Robert Adeyinka Adebayo(RTD) of blessed memory has summarized the situation in Nigeria in the following words: ''In our country, the system has produced despots that foist totalitarianism regimes on us and allows mediocrity to triumph over merit, hence our continued backwardness as a nation.'' Those who possess the political power today must have started taking stock of the legacies they are about to leave behind, particularly the huge debt burden at the center and the states. Another legacy to be left behind are thousands of lives that have been lost for economic and security reasons, in addition to those who remain unaccounted for under this administration. The leaders in their second and final lap are anxious to throw in the towel, while the ones still having a term to go are working vigorously to cover their tra...