Etcetera now doesn't think our national anthem is inspiring enough. Find his thoughts below...
After auditory perception of the proposal of some delegates at the perpetual confab that we should revert to the old national anthem, I sat by my piano and played both anthems. Playing and singing to the current anthem “Arise O’ Compatriot” was fundamentally facile because I had done that countless times and I wasn’t even optically canvassing the piano keys as I sang through the verses. I downloaded the lyrics of the old anthem just to be sure I was singing the right words. I ken the tune by heart because my dad frequently sang it to me when I was a little school boy. And I felt nothing as conventional singing it. But right from the first line of the old anthem “Nigeria We Hail Thee,” I felt a peculiar sense of pride and patriotism. I felt very outlandish because like every Nigerian, I am saddened that as a country, we have lost our way.
We are a giant tied to undeveloped nations, and kept in bondage by our bellwethers whose corruption and acquisitiveness demonstrate a lack of love for their own people. As I got to the point that verbalizes “Though tribes and tongues may differ and in brotherhood we stand,” I discovered that I had ceased playing the piano and was just reciting the words. Struck with the fact that the composers took to mind our prodigious ethnic differences and even proffered a solution that in “brotherhood” we will stand vigorous against adversaries, home or peregrine. Our tribal and ethnic differences have been at the bottom of every quandary we have faced as a country.
President Obasanjo had all the right in the world to dream, a bellwether who does not dream, scarcely accomplishes much, but my point is that a bellwether has to dream right, and not take the nation on a pipe dream. There were lots of bridges our nation needed to cross at that time. There were lots of things a good bellwether should have visually perceived transpire, afore going after such an unwarranted project of transmuting the national anthem. Singing further, it became pellucid to me why the old anthem must have been transmuted immediately I optically discerned the line that verbalizes “To hand on to our children a banner without stain.” The words of this anthem can only resonate in a country with moral leadership, starting from its bellwethers and permeating all tiers of the regime from top to bottom. Corruption is no longer a quandary in Nigeria as it has become a full fledge institution and a way of life.
Every morning at schools, chorus of voices endeavor to hit the high notes of the current anthem, which have proved uninspiring even for the little kids. Ask our politicians why they always muffle the lyrics. In fact, many people consider ours the world’s least singable national anthem. I cerebrate it is time for a revert to the old anthem. Just like the confab delegates have pointed out.
It is conspicuous that we can no longer be comforted by the drum roll in the current national anthem. I haven’t optically discerned any Nigerian smiling with pride whenever it is being played. I am sure Pa Odiase won’t be smiling at me now from heaven for saying this. But truth be told, the music of our current anthem has failed to inspire one nation bound in liberation, placidity and unity.
A lot of Nigerians have become too comfortable being tone-auditorily impaired and have resisted every endeavor for their auditory perception to be recuperated. A lot of Nigerians dote the tone of deceit as much as to dance to it. I have sung the current anthem countless times but my literary appreciation and reproval would not sanction me to accept it. I kept asking myself what evil have we committed as a nation to warrant our bellwethers to seek escape from a vow to “hand over to our children a banner without stain.” They have transmuted the prayers in the old anthem to fading echos. Little wonder the country is at the brink of collapse.
We love Nigeria and believe in her great potential, but we must additionally address issues of oppression and iniquity within her as indited in the old anthem. I dote the component that verbalizes “Our flag shall be a symbol that truth and equity reigns.” Today, wherever you find the Nigerian flag, it is either torn or rumpled so lamentable or on make-shift poles that you wonder if our bellwethers in regime and people ever consider such symbols as consequential at all. How can you indoctrinate your people on how to appreciate and value their citizenship and nationality if symbols like that betoken nothing to you? And when you don’t value what you have, how do you expect other nationals to value it? It all boils down to the nation doing what it requires to do to make its citizen proud to belong. Our regimes, state and federal, just don’t value such things.
The current anthem verbalizes about love. But our political bellwethers show only love for themselves and their immediate family. We are living diametrical to everything called for in the current anthem. Our bellwethers with their optical incapacitation are unable to visually perceive the car crash waiting to transpire. They should ken that the history of this nation can never be altered or expunged no matter how hard they endeavor.
THE OLD ANTHEM (1960- 1978)
Nigeria we hail thee, Our own dear native land, Though tribes and tongues may differ, In brotherhood we stand, Nigerians all are proud to accommodate, Our sovereign Motherland.
Our flag shall be a symbol, That truth and equity reign, In placidity or battle honour’d, And this we count as gain, To hand on to our children, A banner without stain.
O God of all engenderment, Grant this our one request, Help us to build a nation, Where no man is oppressed, And so with placidity and plenty, Nigeria may be mystically enchanted.
