00:00Heated debate erupted in Nigeria as it reverted recently to its original national anthem,
00:05Nigeria we hail thee, replacing arise oh compatriots.
00:14I think what the government is doing is chasing clouds. They're just trying to bring in something
00:18for Nigeria to keep talking about. And because they feel President
00:22Bola Tinubu should be working to fix more pressing issues.
00:26Everybody in this country is virtually living below the global standard. And I think that is
00:30what the government should look into. Now, changing its national anthem to part
00:34with the past is not at all new. And actually, it can be an excellent idea that other countries
00:41should consider adopting. Welcome to the flip side.
00:45President Tinubu signed the National Anthem Bill 2024 into law in May. That made it possible to
00:51officially reinstate the post-colonial anthem Nigeria adopted in October 1960.
00:57For many Nigerians, that came out of the blue. I just know that it's Nigeria, we hail thee,
01:03I don't know more than that. So changing a national anthem to close a
01:07dark chapter in history, be it colonialism or a military dictatorship, is not an unprecedented
01:14move. The anthems of these African countries have been revised over the decades to reflect
01:20their evolving identities and shake off last traces of colonialism.
01:25Niger, South Africa, Rwanda, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
01:32Ghana, and Zimbabwe. So let's ask an expert.
01:37Why are national anthems important for a country's identity?
01:40They are very important in the building of a national psyche and national identity,
01:45and really are part of the founding blocks of identifying a particular country,
01:52beyond sort of the classical ways of doing that, such as territorial sovereignty through borders.
01:58But is parting with the old song a good idea?
02:01It is important that that national anthem and the symbols that define that nation must reflect the
02:10interest, the identity of all people. So in cases where the past does not reflect that,
02:17it is important, therefore, to move.
02:20To summarize, national anthems are an expression of identity, history, culture, aspirations,
02:26and unity. That's why it is important to get everybody on board in composing,
02:32implementing, or even changing it.
02:34Government did not provide rationale, and therefore, even though it's now law,
02:40it has not kind of criticalized any new consciousness on nationalism.
02:45So if a country wants to change its anthem, it's a collective effort,
02:49and not just a political decision, to get it right. And that's the flip side.
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