National anthem, the opposition and a focused government

If there is one thing that has to be given to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu without hesitation, it is his dogged determination, courage and focused leadership. Despite the babbling of the opposition, the President has forged-ahead in a couple of frontiers where angels would ordinarily tarry to tread.

Today, the antagonists of the president issue critical public statements on almost every act of the government in a manner that suggests pitiable confusion, arrant ignorance and sometimes disgusting pride.

Imagine a couple of people announcing to the nation that they would not sing or respect the re- introduced national anthem as if their indifference to it should be a matter of public concern. We know that it is the fundamental right of the individual in a society to make a choice of association without harassment, intimidation or hinderance from any quarter but we also know that it is naïve for anyone to announce to the public that he or she wants to embark on lack of patriotism and utter disrespect for the country and its institutions for the sake of criticising its leadership.

By the way, of what importance is an individual in a nation of about two hundred million people that the country must ground to a halt or run haywire because of the individual’s idiosyncratic tendencies?

Penultimate week, the whole country watched with disgust the unnecessary and unwarranted display of childishness by a woman who refused to join a group in the recitation of the national anthem.

In a manner of self promotion and illusion of grandeurs, the woman was fidgeting while pretending to focus on the programme booklet of the day. It was obvious, as suggested by her body language that she was very uncomfortable with the fact that she was a loner in that big hall as every other Nigerian performed the civic responsibility. Some innocent detractors of the 1960 anthem are even suggesting that its content is meaningless. While everybody is free to make a choice, leaders should not forget that the younger generation is keenly watching.

The noise about the return to the 1960 national anthem generated a lot of unwarranted debate. Without fear of contradiction, change and tinkering with a country’s constitution is not as novel as this group of people want it to be.

For example, Denmark and Switzerland have two official national anthems and each of these has equal status. On the New Year day of 2021, Australia changed a word in its national anthem. The original anthem has a sentence “For we are young and free” changed to “For we are one and free.” In 2012, Austria tinkered with its national anthem. Canada followed suit in 2018. South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania and a couple of other countries changed their constitution without noise. When the Queen of England passed on last year, the sentence “God saves the Queen” seamlessly transformed to “God saves the King.”

The most naïve Nigerian cannot deny the fact that at this critical time in the life of our country, there is need for national rebirth and complete reorientation of the people because its teeming population needs more than just paying lip service to patriotism and love for the country. Every Nigerian is keeping Nigeria at arms length. In act and in words, Nigerians do more damage while de-marketing their own country in the international arena more than Non-Nigerians would do. What if one may ask is worse than running around on social media to place the word “zoo” on the walls of your own country of birth.

It is in this regard that a second look at our national orientation programme should not be ignored. Interestingly, many Nigerians are dogmatic, unbending, even in the face of facts and figures and most of the time Nigerians argue against reason. Those who do not know are usually more vocal in the public space and this lack of appreciation of everything Nigerian has permeated every facet of the Nigerian society.

The citizens of this country cannot continue to show tactless ignorance, lack of goodwill and placement of extreme low value on their nation’s identity through while government looks on without prompt intervention through proper direction of its people on its value system. A country where the naïve and the ignorant challenge the intellectual endowment of the knowledgeable should not be left without guidance and re-orientation. In Nigeria, social media designed to spread knowledge is regularly abused with impunity by the mediocre and imbeciles. A country in which a celebrated noble laureate is seen and branded as an “ordinary lay-about who speaks 1960 English” cannot but be frightening to intellectualism.

It is in this regard that any attempt by the government of the day to re-orientate the people should be supported by those who love and appreciate Nigeria and the starting point may be through the national anthem and pledge.

There is no gainsaying that the national anthems are designed to bring into the fore, the love, dedication, commitment and defense of national sovereignty. People, demonstrate this love and patriotism in the assemblies of world countries in games and other major events through the hosting of the flag and the singing of the anthem.
To be continued tomorrow.
Ojikutu is Professor of Statistics (Rtd), at the University of Lagos.