Between Nigeria’s new national anthem and Nigeria’s old national anthem, most people don’t care which is better, most people feel they are the least of our problems. With everything going out of control, the parliament is expected to be engaging in things that have a direct impact on the lives of Nigerians like ensuring food security and combating insecurity.
While we believe that attention is being paid to these other things that Nigeria feels are more pressing, at the time when the change of the anthem was a huge public sensation, a lot of people saw it as adding insult to injury as at that time, there was severe hunger in the land.
During the earlier days of the reintroduction, given people’s familiarity with Nigeria’s old national anthem, several individuals were reluctant to accept or even make efforts to learn the reintroduced anthem which now is Nigeria’s new national anthem. The lawmakers even attempted to make laws that would have imprisoned individuals who couldn’t recite the anthem, after realizing Nigerians are currently too hungry to learn a new anthem, they left the idea altogether.
It is even complicated to know which is Nigeria’s new national anthem this is given that the current Nigeria’s new national anthem is actually the old one because Nigeria just reverted to the older anthem. This means while Nigeria’s new national anthem is somewhat new, especially to the younger generation, it is the old anthem. But beyond the new and old, which anthem is better? Using the new and old anthem may be confusing for many so when we use the new anthem in this regard, we are referring to the one that has just been abandoned because it was introduced much later after the reintroduced one.
Well if there’s one thing to take home from Nigeria’s old anthem, it is the fact that it emphasizes the country’s diversity. It acknowledged that tongues may differ but unity is of purpose, the new anthem however seems to ignore the distinction in ethnicity therein. Regarding patriotism, the old anthem seemed more directed towards brotherhood.
The old anthem went for the paternal aspect of patriotism and addressed Nigeria as the fatherland whereas the new anthem addressed Nigeria as the motherland. This aspect may not hold significant implications to many as both fathers and mothers are highly regarded in Nigeria although in different perceptions. Mother seems more loving, fathers on the other hand seem to have more authority, whether we are tilting towards a more motherly disposition or fatherly disposition remains to be seen.
If we are to decide, of course, while there are demerits and merits of both anthems, it is most likely that the old anthem saw Nigeria for what it truly is while the new anthem perceives Nigeria as what it should be. What could have been the perfect anthem is a hybrid of the two.
Neither really captures what Nigeria is or what it should be with each having its strengths and weaknesses, what we could see are two national heritage where both are great but insufficient. It did seem like Nigeria went backward so the old anthem is still very applicable and if in the future Nigeria grows to be a country in the true sense of it, we are likely to revert to the new anthem again.
Unsure if we have seen the end of these back-and-forth moves, we have just highlighted the interesting aspects of both anthems, anyone in power may see the applicability of either in the future and reintroduce either or see the insufficiency of both and recommend an entirely new one. Whichever way, Nigerians are currently facing a whole lot, and arguing about which anthem is better may seem like a secondary situation.
Another dimension to the Nigerian Anthem change
Moving from mother virtues to fatherly virtues; Both mothers and fathers are great aspects of everyone’s life. While both parents are great, mothers seems softer, more emotional, and compromising. On the other hand, fathers are more disciplined, tough, and logical. If there’s anything to take home from this, Tinubu has maintained a tough fatherly disposition since assuming office.
This could be another dimension to these things, beyond the ordinary realm. It could be a strong message to Nigerians that the days of compromise are over. We have seen serious changes in the administrative approach. Tough painful decisions are being made. Some of these decisions seem logical and sound like what a father would do. I think while mothers raise happy children, fathers raise disciplined children.
Apart from fatherly or motherly disposition, environment, society, and children’s uniqueness can also impact how children are raised. Earlier Nigerians may be described as over-pampered by the state. These moves towards tougher approaches to governance while seemingly promising long-term gain if sustained also lack a human touch which may impact the population’s psychology toward the government negatively.
Conclusion on the parental disposition or dimension of the anthem change
A country like an ideal family needs fatherly and motherly virtues to raise balanced humans. While tough decisions can be made, human touch should be part of them.
In summary, whether the new Nigerian national anthem or the old one, Nigeria needs a balanced approach to policy changes, yes the over-compromising mother doesn’t raise the best children, and neither does the over-disciplined father.
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