10-Year Jail Term For Nigerians who refuse to sing the new national anthem: Whose ‘dumb’ idea was this?

Aisha Yesufu Refuses To Sing New Nigeria Anthem

Nigeria can, at times, appear like a country with wrong priorities. The things that seem important are not pursued and then, a lot of minor issues suddenly become major.

Welcome to a country where protesters are being arraigned in Magistrate courts, while the incriminating corruption evidence of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, being held by the Kano state government, suddenly disappears and is attributed to protesters “breaking in.” Call Nigeria the “birthplace of comedy and clownery” and you will surely not be wrong.

During my early childhood, patriotism used to be a conscious act. You hear the national anthem playing anywhere and people would stop to recite it before moving on. Law and order were familiar English words back then. The love for this country waxed strong and so, performing those civic responsibilities was no burden at all.

It is important to note, though, that, the relationship between the country and its citizens is like trade and barter—you give and take. It’s the principle. The country does its own part—of taking care of its citizens—and that inspires love and duty from the citizenry in return. Back then, N50 could fetch you a 35cl bottle of Coca-Cola and a famous loaf of ‘agege bread.’ With that, at least, you’d have the strength to sing along to any national anthem and even add the pledge for emphasis.

As much as it was a civic duty to observe the national anthem, pledge and others, there was never a time when people were arrested or threatened for not singing it. So, why then did some lawmaker wake up recently, along with his well-fed colleagues in the hallow chamber, and think that passing a bill seeking jail term for those who refuse to sing the new national anthem by President Tinubu was a wise course of action? Geez. You reenact some pre-independent anthem and when people refuse to sing along, you threaten to jail them for it? Even Adolf Hitler wouldn’t have dared such a thing.

What moral compass does a government that has failed to provide jobs, and check inflation, poverty and hunger have to query its citizens? You have failed at your job, but it is my inability you wish to x-ray and punish? Give me a break. If the American government threatened something like this, I might have been a bit understanding, at least, to an extent. They have a working system and all. What does Nigeria have? A failed system. Even the prisons they wish to throw these erring citizens in is a failed system. Gosh! The sheer size of this ridiculousness is mesmerizing,

I am not so sure, but, for some reason, I seem to be very sure that this proposed bill, which was later dropped, has everything to do with Activist and prominent Peter Obi supporter, Aisha Yesufu. In a viral video after Tinubu and his boys at the Senate passed the bill into law—that reverted the national anthem to the old one….or is it the “new one” they call it now? I’m even confused. Lol. Well, let’s call it the “old-new” and move on. Yesufu was caught, in an event, sitting while the anthem was playing and every other person around stood to observe it. “That is not my anthem,” came her reaction when quizzed on her actions afterward. Who can blame her, though? The anthem feels strange, like the birth of colonization all over again.

My point in all of this is this: You don’t witch-hunt your citizens, and neither should you force them to do things. No laws are compelling Americans to scream, “God bless America.” They just do it. They have a system that works. Make the Nigerian system work and you’ll find citizens changing their attitude towards stuff like this. It will happen naturally, with no force.

The precedence that births change has to start from the very top. Take former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, for instance. Many times, while in office, he took the train to work. Why wouldn’t the citizens take the train as well and feel safe in it? They see their Leader do it and so, they imitate it.

I can bet you that, if the government starts to show a zeal to cut the salaries of Senators and top government officials; fight corruption from the top and better the economic lives of citizens, believe me, the mindset of Nigerians will change.

Right now, the belief in Nigeria as a state is flat, if not nonexistent. The Council of State may have passed a “Vote of Confidence” on the government of President Tinubu, but, the citizens say no. It’s a damning Vote of Annoyance from the masses. The country is at its worst predicament ever and thus, there are more pressing issues than policing people into singing a song.

A hungry man is an angry man. Give that hungry man opportunities to feed and he’ll become a happy man. All around the world, happy men find time for songs and anthems. Maybe, with food in the belly of Nigerians, they’ll even adopt the Libyan national anthem if their President instructs them thus.