Old national anthem: Keyamo gives Dickson 48 hours to clarify NDC’s position

Old national anthem: Keyamo gives Dickson 48 hours to clarify NDC’s position

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has given the National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Senator Seriake Dickson, 48 hours to clarify whether the party endorses Nigeria’s former national anthem.

Keyamo made the demand in a post on his X handle on Saturday, describing the national anthem as one of the country’s symbols representing its history, values and sovereignty.

He argued that singing an anthem different from the one prescribed by law could lay the foundation for secession, warning that a group’s endorsement of such an action through its leader would make it a secessionist movement.

“A national anthem is one of a country’s national symbols. It represents a country’s history, values and sovereignty. It is meant to unite citizens,” he wrote.

The minister added, “When a group of people decide to defy it and sing something different from what others are singing as prescribed by law, that group is preparing grounds to break away from the country. It is one of the ingredients of secession.

“And once the leader of such a group endorses the action, it means the group is then officially a secessionist movement.”

Keyamo consequently challenged Dickson, whom he described as his former classmate and friend, to clarify the party’s position within 48 hours.

“I am therefore officially calling on the original ‘Countryman’, my classmate, my friend and a man of considerable courage from our school days, Senator Seriake Dickson, the official leader of the NDC, to within 48 hours speak up as to whether the NDC officially endorses a proscribed anthem as its own national symbol. The world is waiting,” he said.

The minister’s comments followed an incident at an NDC town hall meeting in the Oregun area of Lagos State on Thursday, where some attendees sang the former national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots”, instead of the current anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”.

The party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was among those seen participating in the singing of the former anthem and making the NDC’s two-finger gesture.

However, the party’s Lagos State governorship candidate, Funso Doherty, later described the singing as a spontaneous reaction by attendees in an emotional atmosphere.

Doherty said the current national anthem was also performed at the event, stressing that Nigeria had only one officially recognised national anthem.

The controversy followed the Federal Government’s decision in May 2024 to reinstate “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” as the national anthem, replacing “Arise, O Compatriots”, which had been in use since 1978.

The National Assembly passed the National Anthem Bill, which was subsequently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2024. The restored anthem was first adopted when Nigeria gained independence in 1960 but was replaced 18 years later.

The decision to restore the former anthem generated mixed reactions, with some Nigerians supporting the move as a return to the country’s historical identity, while critics questioned its relevance amid economic hardship and security challenges.

In a separate interview on Eagle 102.5 FM on Friday, Keyamo criticised Obi and other NDC members over the incident, accusing them of disrespecting national symbols, the law and the office of the President.

“For me, it is left for the Nigerian people to decide whether these human beings you have now seen disregarding national symbols, disrespecting the law and disrespecting the office of the President that they so crave are responsible enough to aspire to that office,” he said.

He also described those who would support the party over the incident as irresponsible, saying the action could affect its appeal to moderate voters.

However, Keyamo acknowledged during the interview that he was unaware of any specific penalty prescribed by law for singing the former national anthem.

“There’s no penalty that is prescribed by law. No penalty. The law just says this is our new national anthem and then you should think we should all abide by it. It becomes a crime when there’s a penalty attached to it,” he said.