♪♫♪ Should Nigerias National Anthem be rendered as entertainment song? Unarguably, singing a national anthem elicits patriotism and pride from citizens of a country. A national anthem symbolises the sovereignty of a country. Nigerias first national anthem, Nigeria We Hail Thee, adopted in 1960, was written by Miss Lillian Williams, a Briton. The current national anthem, Arise, O Compatriots, was adopted in 1978. The stanzas of the current anthem are the products of five winners in a competition conducted by the National Publicity Committee of Nigeria: John Ilechukwu, Eme Etim Akpan, B.A. Ogunnaike, Sota Omoigui and P.O. Aderibigbe. The words were put together to compose the anthem by the Nigerian Police Band, under the directorship of late Benedict Odiase. In the past, because of the importance attached to national anthem, children were taught in school to stand at attention while singing the anthem. For now, that practice appears to be waning, while the tune of the anthem, in some cases, has been altered by artistes. They attribute the development to poor attitude of the public to the nations cultural heritage as well as ignorance of their civic responsibilities. Worried by the inability of many Nigerians to sing the national anthem, the National Orientation Agency (NOA), advocates that the second stanza of the national anthem should be adopted as prayer in public functions. The stanza reads: O God of creation, direct our noble cause, guide our leaders right, help our youths the truth to know, in love and honesty to grow and living just and true, great lofty heights attain, to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign. We must retain the original rendition of the national anthem and those who do it differently shouldnt be doing it, NOA officials say. The NOA has pointed out that we should try as much as possible to retain the original rendition, and part of the problem is that many people don’t have the original copy and don’t even know the original lyrics. Like all national symbols, there are distortions that have emerged over the years, and even the Coat of Arms have differed in colour overtime. Furthermore, NOA has initiated an amendment of the ordinance act to address issues relating to national symbols; like wrong display of flags and to identify those entitled to use the Coat of Arms. The bill has been in the national assembly for the past two years and we’re hoping they will give it the attention it requires. It will help solve some of these problems, but the bigger duty for everybody is sensitisation so that people will know. Many dont know that if you have the national flag displayed at your office, you should lower it by six p.m. or put on a light to indicate that the nation doesn’t sleep; and that there should be no company flag at the same level with the flag. What are the options to return the nation to the good old days when national ethos were cherished and respected? What do you think?
Posted on: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 01:05:15 +0000
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