New National Anthem And Our Endless Search For Identity

So much has been said about the federal government decision to revert to the old national anthem. It is one conversation I have not been too eager to be part of. Most opinions, apparently, have tended to view the move as an unnecessary misplacement of priority. While I completely agree with this sentiment, my reluctance to contribute to the discourse has been mainly informed by the fact that though I do not see the new national anthem as a solution to our problem, I do not also see it as contributing to our problem either. More importantly, I have not heard, as usual in our clime, that a humongous amount of money has been budgeted to effect the change in the anthem. The nation gained nothing just as it lost nothing.

However, this write-up is prompted by the fact that what has just happened is not just an isolated one-off event, it is a pattern running through our history and which speaks loudly of our disorientation and bereftness of ideas in bringing an ultimate solution to our multifaceted problems.

Two examples will help make this point. Shortly after the dawn of the fourth republic in 1999, the federal government proposed an idea to rename the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) by removing the “force” in its name for it to simply read “Nigeria Police” (NP) as a way of getting its personnel to be more civil and respect the rights of Nigerians as against their notorious brutality. The fact that this change of name would have yielded nothing had it been implemented through constitutional amendment is not in doubt. You do not achieve a more civil police force through mere rebranding but through strict enforcement of laws that punish erring officers

More recently, in 2019, the Nigerian Prisons Service was renamed the Nigerian Correctional Service. The goal was to realise prisons as a place of reformation and rehabilitation as against a dungeon of dehumanization that leaves a criminal unchanged or even worse than he was. Have the conditions of our prisons, or correctional centres, really changed with this rebranding? Your guess will be as good as mine.

While one is likely not to be impressed by the above measures in terms of their effectiveness in solving Nigeria’s problems, it must be pointed out that the idea behind them is not completely nonsensical. The measures are indeed rooted in something real, which is the power of symbolism in human quest for progress amidst the challenges and vicissitudes lying on the way. These symbolisms include names of individuals or organisations, names of nations, logos and mottos adopted by institutions, as well as anthems, flags and coat of arms adopted by countries etc. These symbols embody the values and aspirations of individuals or organisations. They give them a sense of identity, provide focus and direction towards their aspirations and project the external image they want of themselves.

For a nation in particular, the above symbolisms help to sustain the national myth. They help project the state as the epitome of ideological excellence, the highest agent of collective protection and progress – our fatherland (or motherland) – under whose guidance and solicitude the greatest good is realised for all These symbolisms effectively give the state the character of religion – a political religion, if you like, where the flag, coat of arms, anthem etc. become the totems (to borrow from Emile Durkheim’s theory of religion) that embody the inviolable sanctity of the state. These symbols, like religious totems, are “worshipped” by way of saluting the flag, standing still to sing the national anthem and through other reverencing acts.

However, like every myth, the integrity of the myth of the state ought to be preserved by certain complementary actions, otherwise it will lose its attraction and reverence and no one takes it seriously anymore. This is where Nigeria has failed so far – and woefully too. All the values that make up the myth of the state as embodied by our national symbols are being continuously negated by actions of the state itself. We sing of unity in our national anthem but the state is doing everything to keep us divided. The white in our flag symbolises peace but actions of the state are far from geared towards peace. Our national motto as inscribed in our coat of arms reads “Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress” but the state appears working very hard against these values.The implication is that the myth of the state is being destroyed.

In religion we find an important parallel. Religion thrives on the imaginings (or myth) of perfection of virtue, so while the mortals who lead a religious body are imperfect, they should still strive to uphold a certain level of virtuous living, otherwise the very myths that are the foundation of such religion will come crashing. Imagine when a religious body is exposed as an institution of fraud, what then remains of it?

So while a nation like Nigeria cannot be a domain of angels and saints, its leaders and citizenry ought to live, to a reasonable extent, by the values that complement the myth of the state. But we have failed to do this, and this is why we have been running helter-skelter in search of our true identity. The latest on the list of our numerous actions in this disorientated search for identity is the change of our national anthem from the new to the old. Before now, there have been suggestions for change of our national flag, national motto, and even the name of the country. We are tinkering with symbolisms without realising that while symbols help shape whom we become, they also draw their relevance and strength from whom we actually are.

One aspect I have found particularly annoying is the propensity of the political class to resort to avowals of national unity all the time whereas their actions have continued to make unity impossible. Their misrule results to increasing hardship leading to inevitable mass discontent that predisposes the nation to tensions, agitations and conflicts. Second, the penchant of these persons to exploit ethnicity and religion for political gain is the wrongest way to advance unity. Therefore, the myth of “indivisible and indissoluble nation under God” as contained in our constitution will remain empty and ineffectual for as long as we continue to work against our unity.

In the same way, the myth of “progress” as contained in our national motto will lead us to nowhere until we stop all our anti-developmental deeds including nepotism and favouritism in public recruitment, stealing of public funds and other forms of corruption. This admonition is for all – from the man in Aso Rock to the least civil servant in the local government.

Until we do all these, all the avowals of unity, peace, brotherhood, faith, progress etc. we make through our national symbols will amount to nothing. We need to match our national myths with complementary actions, otherwise we will continue to gravitate unstoppably to the nadir of collective ruin.

Henry Chigozie Duru, PhD, teaches journalism and mass communication at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.