Anthem matters

Nigeria, similar virtually each African country, is simply a assemblage conception of occidental imperialism and the Berlin Conference of 1879. Its sanction is simply a assemblage coinage imposed by Flora Shaw, who joined the British assemblage governor, Frederick Lugard.

Nigeria’s nationalist anthem astatine independency connected October 1, 1960, Nigeria, We Hail Thee bore the stamp of a assemblage hangover. Its lyrical creation was by a Briton, Lillian Jean Williams, its philharmonic creation by her compatriot, Frances Berda.

In the mid-1970s, determination was clamour successful immoderate quarters that, the name, the emblem and the anthem beryllium changed to repudiate a assemblage heritage. The Obasanjo-led subject junta keyed into this and replaced Nigeria, We Hail Thee with Arise, O Compatriots connected October 1, 1978.

Until 2024, May 29 bore a treble value successful the annals of Nigeria. For astir Nigerians, particularly those calved wrong the past 3 decades, it is the day of the extremity of the 2nd bout of subject regularisation successful Nigeria. Unknown to astir of those calved wrong that period, May 29, is the day of the highest of killings of the Igbo successful bluish Nigeria sequel to the archetypal subject coup of January 15, 1966, the time the archetypal bout of subject regularisation infected Nigeria.

When May 29, 1999 was chosen by the Abdulsalam Abubakar-led subject junta arsenic the terminal day of the 2nd bout of subject rule, immoderate remarked that it was a deliberate determination to erase from representation the killings of Igbo successful the northbound that peaked connected May 29, 1966. The information that Nigeria’s officialdom, since January 15, 1966, habitually remembers to forget, makes it rather casual to subscribe to this theory.

This year, May 29 has acquired a 3rd significance: it is the time the President signed into instrumentality a measure reverting to Nigeria We Hail Thee arsenic nationalist anthem.

Before helium became President, the existent President had, successful an interview, expressed his penchant for Nigeria We Hail Thee. No 1 should begrudge him implicit his preference. Many different Nigerians stock with him that preference. Although I similar a nationalist anthem composed by Nigerians, aft each this state is blessed with large musicians, I find Nigeria We Hail Thee to beryllium of amended philharmonic quality, and its lyrics much inspiring than Arise O Compatriots. Those are idiosyncratic preferences I stock with the President. But idiosyncratic preferences should not beryllium imposed connected the populace adjacent erstwhile they are preferences of the President.

The existent issues, however, are process and priority, and oregon deficiency of the two, successful the alteration of the National Anthem successful 1978 and successful 2014. The archetypal alteration came by mode of somewhat disguised subject dictatorship. Entries were invited, 5 were selected, and from the 5 came Arise, O Compatriots. The latest alteration came by mode of latent and subterranean civilian unilateralism wearing the toga of legislative activity. It is simply a substance that raises different matters

The radical ain the land. But Nigerian subject and politicians—often, it is highly hard to differentiate betwixt the two—carry connected arsenic if they owned the land. That is wherefore names of monuments, streets, institutions, to notation but these, are changed without consulting the people. The nationalist anthem belongs to each of us. However, it cannot beryllium genuinely said that the radical were carried on successful the process that led to this caller reversal of anthems. We present person it connected grounds that, doubly successful our history, a fewer persons changed the anthem without carrying the radical along.

Yes, this latest alteration was made to look similar the result of a legislative process. But that was lone successful appearance. Members of the National Assembly who passed the instrumentality supposedly correspond the people. In a genuinely antiauthoritarian culture, those who correspond the radical ought to consult with the radical earlier acting successful government, and, they indispensable beryllium accountable to the people. In this case, if determination was immoderate nationalist hearing, it was fixed small oregon nary publicity.

Moreover, reactions aft the reversal of anthem amusement that, for galore Nigerians, a alteration of nationalist anthem is not a precedence astatine this constituent successful time. For them, the economy, electricity, insecurity and corruption are the priorities. The semipermanent and astir cardinal precedence is amendment oregon replacement of a Constitution whose provisions and implementation facilitate insecurity, poorness and corruption.

The Constitution, lest we forget, is itself an imposition by subject fiat. The illegality of subject regularisation and the subject decrees it engendered—and the Constitution is itself a subject decree—makes this Constitution a papers engendered successful and by arbitrary rule. Its galore defects person exposed america to untold political, economical and societal discomfort. This Constitution needs to beryllium changed expeditiously. But our lawmakers opted to use velocity wherever it was uncalled for, amending the Constitution astatine a pedestrian speed.

Despite the debatable presumption of the Constitution, neither the authorization of the lawmakers to legislate, nor the authorization of the President to motion bills into instrumentality is being questioned. Rather, what is being questioned is the mode authorization is being used. Arbitrary workout of lawfully constituted authorization is perilous. Today, it is the nationalist anthem, tomorrow, it mightiness beryllium thing else. Already, we person instances wherever our wealthiness is appropriated without our consent.

What has conscionable happened—what has been happening—exemplifies the absurdity of Section 2 of the 1999 Constitution, which repeats verbatim Section 2 of the 1979 Constitution. That conception ascribes sovereignty, not to the people, but to the state. It legitimizes the Nigerian ruling elite acting similar landlords with the radical arsenic tenants.

Nigerians are successful request of shared halfway values if we are to transmute from a authorities held unneurotic astatine gunpoint into a veritable nation. A nationalist anthem contains the shared halfway values of a nation. The “old new” anthem gives america shared halfway values erstwhile it says, “though people and lingua whitethorn differ, successful brotherhood we stand”. Sticklers for inclusive connection volition find this sex insensitive. The precocious discarded anthem speaks of “one federation bound successful freedom, bid and unity”.

Whichever of the 2 we sing, these would stay specified declarations and slogans unless we resolved to enactment for the realisation of these halfway values. We have, truthful far, nary communal life, nary brotherhood oregon sisterhood, nary nationhood, isolated from the information that we dwell wrong the aforesaid territory and we enactment the Super Eagles and Super Falcons.

If we tin instrumentality to the nationalist anthem we sang astatine independence, connected October 1, 1960, unilaterally replaced by the subject successful 1978, we tin and we ought to instrumentality to the genuinely national constitution unilaterally abolished by an all-knowing subject successful 1966.

Not lone that. Church schools, unilaterally and illegally confiscated by the aforesaid military, should beryllium returned to their rightful owners. Their confiscation was a usurpation of the quality of justice, a tragic error.
Akinwale, OP, PhD, is Deputy Vice Chancellor, Augustine University, Ilara-Epe, Lagos State.