The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has challenged the National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Seriake Dickson, to clarify the party’s position on the singing of Nigeria’s former national anthem, giving him 48 hours to respond.
Keyamo made the demand on Saturday through a post on his X handle, following the controversy generated by the singing of the old national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots”, at an NDC town hall meeting in Lagos on Thursday.
The minister argued that the national anthem was a symbol of Nigeria’s history, values and sovereignty, insisting that deliberately adopting a different anthem could amount to laying the foundation for secession.
According to him, any political group whose leader officially endorses the use of an alternative national anthem risks being regarded as a secessionist movement.
He said, “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.”
Describing Dickson as his former classmate and friend, Keyamo called on the former Bayelsa State governor to publicly state whether the NDC had adopted the former anthem as its official national symbol.
He wrote, “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.”
The controversy erupted during Thursday’s NDC town hall meeting in the Oregun area of Lagos State, where some participants were seen singing “Arise, O Compatriots”, which was Nigeria’s national anthem before its replacement in May 2024.
The party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was among those who participated in the singing and displayed the party’s two-finger gesture.
However, the NDC’s Lagos State governorship candidate, Funso Doherty, subsequently explained that the singing was a spontaneous reaction by participants in an emotional atmosphere.
Doherty maintained that the current national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”, was also performed at the gathering, emphasising that the country had only one legally recognised national anthem.
The Federal Government had in May 2024 restored “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”, which was first adopted at independence in 1960, replacing “Arise, O Compatriots”, introduced in 1978.
The National Assembly passed the National Anthem Bill, which President Bola Tinubu subsequently signed into law on May 29, 2024.
Speaking separately during an interview on Eagle 102.5 FM on Friday, Keyamo also criticised Obi and other NDC members over the incident, accusing them of showing disregard for national symbols, the law and the office of the President.
He questioned their suitability to seek the country’s highest political office, arguing that their conduct could influence how moderate voters perceive the party.
However, the minister acknowledged during the interview that he was unaware of any specific punishment 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.
