The ‘Old’ New National Anthem

Meaningful and enduring change can only come from the mind; a change or tweaking of mindset. The way you see things. The way you see yourself. And what you perceive your role to be in the grand scheme of things. That is why one of the most reliable predictors of success – whether as a family, as an organisation or even as a nation – is how well you, as a leader are able to sell your vision to everybody else. Have you been able to convince those you lead, that your goals are the same? Do they see it resulting in them living their best life? Do they see themselves as people who have a stake in the project? Only a mad man will use his own hands to burn his house down. There’s been a lot of hue and cry lately about the ‘new’ old national anthem, or is it the ‘old’ new anthem? Feel free to take your pick. I must confess however that I was not one of those who thought it was the most pressing matter at hand for our nation. Still, I do know one thing. If positive and lasting change will come, it must start from the mind. Once your mindset changes, so will your attitude, followed by your actions.

The disadvantages and loss to the nation that has resulted from the absurd policy of scrapping History from the school curriculum, is nothing short of monumental. We must have all heard countless times that a person who doesn’t know where he is coming from, cannot make an informed decision on where he ought to go or how to get there. No matter how many times we hear this, the truism remains intact. It doesn’t diminish. But permit me to add something which I believe is equally important or perhaps more so. Without the benefit of knowing your history, how can you know who you are? What shaped your culture, your likes and dislikes, your values, your beliefs and how you see the world? I have asked this in previous articles and will continue asking until we have a nationally agreed answer – what is the Nigerian ideology? What is the Nigerian dream?

History tells us (courtesy of Tolu Ogunlesi’s painstaking research) that the lyrics to the anthem, ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’, was written by Lillian Jean Williams, a British expatriate in Nigeria. What most Nigerians do not know however is that the music to accompany the lyrics was written by Frances Benda, whose musical composition was picked ahead of 3,692 other entries sent in from across the world. Though she too was British, being a professional pianist and a private music teacher at the Carol Hill School of Classical Ballet in London, the committee of six judges was entirely Nigerian. These judges were given the task of shortlisting the entries, after which the relevant authorities would then broadcast them across the country, so Nigerians could make their choice; making this particular component of the anthem the result of a rather democratic process. It may interest you to know that Frances Benda was actually the pen name of Mrs Charles Kernot. The real name of the composer. Also interesting to learn was that the competition entries came in from as far as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Cyprus, Algeria, Ghana, French Cameroons, Senegal and South Africa. I also took note that all the entries which had to be submitted by the closing date of March 31, 1959, were sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which my late dad would head as Permanent Secretary seven years later.

I will not delve into a debate of which is better, the recently discarded anthem (Arise, O Compatriots adopted in 1978) or the reintroduced one (Nigeria, We Hail Thee). I believe justice has been done to this already. But I guess what we should really be asking ourselves is, what are the emotions that it evokes in us? As we stand together, hand on chest and singing in unison, does it impel us to stand firm on the side of fairness, justice and equity? Does it evoke an overwhelming sense of national pride which embraces our ethnic diversity? Does it awaken a sense of duty and absolute loyalty to the national cause? Putting it above all else. Does it make each and everyone of us feel we matter and believe that we can indeed make the difference? If the answer is ‘Yes’ to all the above, then it may just do the job. God bless you all. God bless Nigeria.