The story about lack of believe did not after all start in Nigeria. Even in the old Israel, there is a saying: ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth’? So it is like a dream for most Nigerians that their country can be among emerging ‘MINT’ power brokers. 
In 2001 the world began talking about the Bric countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – as potential powerhouses of the world economy. The term was coined by economist Jim O’Neill, who has now identified the “Mint” countries – Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey – as emerging economic giants. Here he explains why.
So what is it about the so-called Mint countries that makes them so special? Why these four countries?
For most Nigerians, it is another lie being generated by friends of the government in power. But to discerning investors outside the country, the is a goldmine in the making, if the friction being generated by the 2015 elections will allow reason to hold sway.
It was easy for everybody to believe the acronym – BRIC, and later BRICS. But, what is MINT, Nigerians will ask?
For them, how can there be MINT with poverty staring unflinchingly at you, power yet to respond to stimuli, courts being bombed, among others.
But figures that do not lie say otherwise. In fact, the few that has faith in the project call Nigeria and had thought of their country being among ‘BRINCS’, believe MINT is possible by 2050 at the most.
For this sect of people, but for unbelieve  and some Nigerians going out of their way to tear the country down because they are not in power, the country would have been far ahead.
Analysts recall that, sorting out energy policy was seen in both Mexico and Nigeria as a top priority and each country has launched a major initiatives last year, which if implemented, will accelerate growth rates significantly.
Here is an amazing statistic. About 170 million people in Nigeria share about the same amount of power that is used by about 1.5 million people in the UK. Almost every business has to generate its own power. The costs are enormous.
“Can you imagine, can you believe, that this country has been growing at 7% with no power, with zero power? It’s a joke.” says Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
In Mexico I was all set to be disappointed, as expectations are so high, but the young president and his equally young colleagues are full of determination to change the place.
If you thought Maggie Thatcher stood for serious reforms, these guys make her seem like a kitten. They are reforming everything from education, energy and fiscal policy to the institution of government itself.
What about all the challenges and things that usually scare people? Well corruption is obviously one topic that all four would seem to share, and I had many interesting discussions about it in each country.
In Nigeria, Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi argued that corruption rarely prevents economic development – and that the growth of the economy, accompanied by improvements in education, will lead to better governance and greater transparency.
Such views are important to listen to, as an alternative to our often simplistic Western way of thinking. For many credible people in the Mint countries, corruption is a consequence of their weak past, not a cause of a weak future, and certainly not the number one challenge. It falls way down a list compared with the costs of energy and the breadth of its availability and, of course, infrastructure.