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…Say anthem not our priority need
By Cosmas Omegoh
The Federal Government is currently in cloud nine at the moment. This follows its success in forcing the return of the country’s former national anthem: “Nigeria we hail thee.”
Nigeria we hail thee was re-adopted days ago – 45 straight years after it was discarded. It now replaces the “Arise O’ compatriots,” which was adopted in 1978 under Olusegun Obasanjo as Head of State.
The sudden change of the anthem has left the generality of Nigerians to wonder. Many are yet to understand the reason behind the move, contending that the move represents a misplaced priority for the present administration.
Those spoken to reasoned that President Bola Tinubu ought to have risen to tackle hunger, inflation, insecurity and other myriad of challenges bedeviling the country.
They insisted that changing the nation’s anthem was none of anybody’s worries. They further contended that if ever the sudden anthem change held any benefit, it was for the good of those who fought for its return.
Looking back, the lyrics of the “Nigeria we hail thee,” it was learnt, were written by a certain Lillian Jean Williams in 1959. She was said to be an expatriate living in Nigeria at that time. The lines were put into music by Frances Berda.
According to Wikipedia, at the time, the then colonial government “launched a contest to compose an anthem, offering a prize of £1,000, which Ms Berda, a ballet musician, won.”
Following it successful launch, the anthem was adopted as Nigeria’s in 1960 when the British flag, the Union Jack, was lowered, to signpost Nigeria’s independence.
But in 1978, under the watch of Olusegun Obasanjo as military Head of State, a new national anthem: “Arise O Compatriots,” was birthed.
According to Wikipedia, the then new national anthem “was selected from the lyrics of five winning entries, (and) fused into one. The entries were submitted by P. O. Aderogba, Babatunde Ogunnaike, John Ikechukwu, Eme Etim Akpan and Sotu Omoigui.”
It noted that “the lyrics are a combination of words and phrases taken from five of the best entries in a national contest. The words were put to music by the Nigerian Police Band under the directorship of Benedict P. Odiase (1934–2013).”
Since the announcement of the return of the old anthem, reactions have continued to trail the change. Criticisms and objections to the re-adoption of the anthem keep mounting even after its return has been passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Tinubu.
Reflection on anthem’s early days
Meanwhile, some older ones have continued to recall how they felt singing the “Nigeria we hail Thee,” in those years of yore.
“I was in primary school when it was introduced in 1060,” John Adesanya, founder, Citizen for Righteousness and Justice, an NGO, reflected with some nostalgic feelings.
“In fact, that was the year I left primary school.
“It was a great feeling singing the anthem as a pupil especially as we gained independence; on that day, we were handed flags which we kept waving as we sang with great excitement.
“The flag held expectations that our native land would be land of hope, land of opportunity, land of unity. We were full of hope that Nigerian would be a great country for us all.
“At that time, everything was going on smoothly even though tribes and tongues differed. Life went on until the 1966 coup that rocked the nation.”
Illyas Bello Abdul, ex-chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), also recalled how it felt singing the anthem in those days.
“We sang the now re-adopted anthem very well in our days in primary school. That was in the early 1970s until it was changed in 1978.
“When it was discarded, we were not happy. But as we continued to grow in our educational pursuit, we continued to compare the content of the two anthems,” he said.
He emphasised that in terms of content, “this one now brought back is richer,” adding that “it is still very fresh in my memory.
“If I have any problem with any of the two anthems, it is with the one they have just jettisoned.”
He noted that some young people were complaining that they could not begin to learn a new anthem later in life, hence their objection to it.
“But to those of us who are old and were part and parcel of the anthem from the beginning, I don’t know whether it is going to remind us about the legacies of the colonial masters and our failure in keeping the pace with our founding fathers’ expectation. This is because it reminds us how we have failed as a nation.”
He added: “Perhaps, what our current leaders are promising by bringing back this anthem, I ask, is it like saying we are starting on this note? Sincerely speaking, we no longer have brotherhood.
“May be that is where the National Orientation Agency (NOA) should kick in and align us to one of the essential lines of that anthem ‘in brotherhood we stand.’”
Tinubu defends action
Not minding the criticisms that followed the anthem change, the Federal Government has continued to put up spirited defence of its action.
At a recent meeting with the Arewa Consultative Forum at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, President Tinubu shortly after the reintroduction of the anthem, mounted a wall of defence.
He said: “Some people say is that (anthem) your priority?
“It’s my priority. I agree with the National Assembly. If they make (a) law, I’ve got to obey that law, or we disagree openly and close the chapter.
“But the question of diversity? Who gave us the name Nigeria? Is it not Britain? Or somewhere? Have we changed our name? We are Nigerians. Our passport shows that.
“As long as we are Nigerians and one family, we remain and protect our diversity and love one another as brothers and sisters.”
Anthem not Nigeria’s priority
However, some Nigerians who spoke to Sunday Sun are not having anything to do with what the president was trying to make Nigerians believe about the need for the anthem.
To them, President Tinubu missed the point.
Mr Kanayo Esinulo, a veteran journalist and social commentator, and some other persons have been interrogating the idea behind bringing back an old anthem, ostensibly through the back door.
“When I heard and read about the resurrection of the old national anthem to replace the current one, I asked if our national anthem was of so much importance that every other thing had to wait until we sort out which of the versions would win the day?
“The fact that people can no longer feed their families because of very high inflation and the worrisome decline in the purchasing power of the Naira does not bother this Bola Tinubu administration.
“The condition in which the majority of Nigerians now find themselves should worry a listening, patriotic and purposeful government, certainly not any new or old national anthem for God’s sake. National anthem is not one of our problems. Certainly not!”
In the same manner, Mr Adesanya said: “We don’t know what is in the mind of the present ruler which led him to insist on bringing back the anthem.
“When you look at the two (old and the new) anthems, there is no much difference between them in their lyrics.
“But I don’t think that this anthem is our priority now because the rulers are the architects of our present challenges. It is not the national anthem that is going to resolve the problems we are facing. “Even if the rulers have chosen to work with the anthem they are changing, we still can fare better; look that what the discarded one says: ‘God should direct our noble past.’
“I don’t see our rulers following the direction of our God; I don’t see the God- factor there in their conduct.
“This anthem they brought back is based on God, likewise the new one. But the problem is that they are not putting the God-factor into consideration. That is where the basic problem is. That is why we are facing torrents of calamity today – banditry, kidnapping, insecurity, food scarcity – all these are the consequences of the neglect of God’s principles in governance.
“I don’t see any difference the anthem will make if the rulers themselves do not change in their approach to things.”
Equally not happy with the return of the old anthem was Charles Aniagwu, former spokesman of Abubakar Atiku campaign.
In his reaction, he asked: “I don’t understand whether they did enough consultation before that.
“Elsewhere, a lot of town hall meetings could have been held, same for consultation before passing the bill re-introducing the old national anthem. None of such was done!
“And in any case, the problem we are having in Nigeria right now is not national anthem? The anthem does not expire; it is the behaviour of the people that matters and not the anthem.
“The citizenry who don’t understand the English language you speak while singing the national anthem do not understand what you mean. They are concerned about having good life.
“Go and look at what the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It says what the government of the day should provide for the people; the anthem is not part of it.
“Truth is that things are rough for the average Nigerian.
“And so, for those of them in government, what they should begin to think about now is how to make the country better and not what suits them.”
Abdul on his part, wanted the government to place the right priority on what the people needed.
“I urge the government to think faster than wasting time on national anthems. There are more pressing issues for the government to devote its time to. It is just dissipating time and energy on things that do not matter – things that do not improve the life of anyone.
“A good percentage of the Nigerian people don’t know what the government is talking about. What is important to them is that there is food on the table – they want to send their kids to school and pay their school fees – and there is security for them. These are areas the government should concentrate on rather than changing the nation anthem.
“If they can resort the former national anthem, they should as well, resort the value of the Naira to what is used to be in the 1970s when 78k exchanged for a dollar. The government should also touch other areas – especially the economy.”
The vendetta theory
Esinulo believes that President Tinubu’s obsession for the new anthem seemed to give credence to the conspiracy theory that he introduced the anthem to spite former President Obasanjo.
“I am reminded that the new anthem was the product of the erstwhile government of Olusegun Obasanjo. If it is true that it was during the OBJ government that the current anthem came into existence, then I can easily understand why the current FG would support the move; the speed with which the change was signed into law spoke volumes. And remember, as I do, that there is no love lost between OBJ and Tinubu.”
Anthem’s truth, justice lacking
At the same time, Esinulo believes that a closer look at the re-introduced anthem points to some contradiction.
“The spirit and message, yes, stand in contradiction to our prevailing circumstances,” he noted.
The he asked: “Where is the truth and justice that the anthem claims prevail in Nigeria? Where, I ask? Of course, they do not exist in today’s Nigeria: truth and justice.
“In the case of ‘a nation where no man is oppressed,’ that is empty sloganeering and its purveyors know that a nation where no man is oppressed has since ceased to exist within our shores. It was perpetuated and entrenched by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who, most unfortunately, governed Nigeria and drove it for eight years on flat tyres.
“There were more justice and less oppression in apartheid South Africa than existed and still exists in the Nigeria of today. The surprising thing is that the government that succeeded the apartheid regime of Buhari has remained on the same trajectory, the same curve. That is my disappointment. Buhari played havoc with Nigeria and its future and the future of our children. That is the painful truth. It is so sad.”
He further pointed out that “the low point in that anthem is its assumption that truth and justice will prevail in Nigeria ever again.
“Sadly again, the anthem says one thing while the government of Nigeria does another. The spirit of the anthem talks about unity, oneness, building a dynamic country where peace and prosperity will flourish. But is that the case when you are constantly and repeatedly reminded that ‘you don’t belong here’ by a group of otherwise educated folks?
“More so, there is no deliberate effort by this government or its immediate predecessor to unite the country.
“The East is at the receiving end now. It could be someone else’s tomorrow. The North keeps playing its familiar game and we, in the South keep dancing to the ugly music. It is unfortunate – a big one at that!”
Adesanya equally sees contradiction in the anthem. And this is what he says: “To be honest with you, the two anthems capture the spirit of justice, righteousness and truth. They are all there.
“But in Nigeria of today, the system does not in any way follow the spirit of the national anthem. It does not.
“In Nigeria of today, injustice is the order of the day. Think about the palaver we have just come out from now – the new Minimum Wage and the shutting down of the country.
“Can you imagine a government set up a committee last January to fashion out a new minimum wage for workers. But until we got to a standstill six months after, there was no conclusion, no decision. Does that show seriousness?
“Now, look at the rulers and the kind of money they waste in the same country and compare that to what the poor earns. You can see that there is injustice.
“Then I ask: why can’t we have information from the Minister of Information saying this is what the president, ministers, members of the National Assembly, governors and LGA chairmen are paid? Obviously, that will put a kind of stop to every insinuation around this – say the truth. But there is no truth; and so people are left with speculation.
“Now, the reality is that in Nigeria, there is no truth; and there is no justice; we need the two badly for us to make progress,” he emphasised.
And for Aniagwu, “an anthem is just like a song. There is no spirit in it. If you sing anything it becomes your anthem.
“All we are saying is let there be good life; once there is good life anchored on the good intentions of the government, things will be ok. It is not about what is not real.
“The challenge is not the national anthem. If we are forced to make comparison, I will only say that the re-adopted ‘Nigeria we hail the’ was composed by a foreigner, ‘while Arise oh Compatriots’ was composed by some Nigerians. Period!”
As for Abdul, the story is the same. “I will say that the lines on the new anthem are wishes – what every national is called to do. It is a reminder of our wish for our dear country. It is good that it is well constructed to capture the meaning and aspiration of the citizenry. I quite agree with that.
“But I think that the bottom line is that the government should think of going further than that.
“As the government resuscitates a national anthem we abandoned since 1978, I hope someone will remind Mr Tinubu that if he thinks what we left behind 45 year ago is better, then he should be remind him about other things we were doing wonderfully well in those good days.
No willingness for change
Abdul is totally unhappy with the situation in the country which the government is not tackling. He said: “We are far away from moving towards a land where no man is oppressed.
“I cannot see that happening yet. Look at a situation where the poor is getting poorer, and the rich getting richer. I have not seen a rich man that is now poor, neither have I seen a poor man that is getting richer unless the ones that recently crashed into government.
“I don’t see how any justice will prevail in this country.
“We might was well end up singing a song every day, forgetting that there is no sign that what we are singing about is unrealisable because there is no sincerity of purpose in the whole thing. Here, people will say one thing and do the opposite.
“Now look at Mr President. He removed the subsidy on fuel. And now he is groping in the dark and searching for the way out. That is the government of the day. He didn’t sit down to evaluate the impact of the subsidy removal. And now, there is no direction, no hope, and no focus.
“Not even with this set of people in government now, will things get better. And I don’t know the set of people in Nigeria that can make the right change.
“As for those there – if only it is business as usual, it would have been far better. In their case, things are getting worst!”
