The Bola Tinubu administration has just marked one year in office. It has become customary, since 2000, for successive administrations at the centre and the 36 states to roll out the drums on every 29th day of May to draw attention to their journey in office. And that, for dispassionate observers, should be the only reason why the present government at the centre should remember and mark that day.
Regardless of the absence of a reason to celebrate, the administration ensured that it must do or say something that will get Nigerians talking. The idea behind that subterfuge is to divert the people’s attention from the real issues of governance. And so, in line with its diversionary tactic, the government, in an absurd move, reintroduced the National Anthem that was dropped on 1st October, 1978, during Olusegun Obasanjo’s reign as military Head of State. Before now, the Muhammadu Buhari administration had, in 2018, dropped May 29 as Democracy Day in favour of June 12.
Both actions carry a ring of familiarity and predictability. Observers can easily spot the political undertones inherent in them. The most obvious is that the actions seem to be targeted at Obasanjo. May 29 as Democracy Day was Obasanjo’s creation. Buhari killed it 19 years after to please advocates of June 12. Obasanjo, though the prime beneficiary of June 12, is believed to be its worst enemy. To placate the army of agitators in the South West who preferred June 12 to May 29, Buhari jettisoned the latter. It was a political move aimed at winning the confidence of the South West in exchange for their votes for the 2019 presidential election. But whether that worked for Buhari or not is a matter of debate. It was also believed then that Buhari’s action was a spiteful move aimed at getting at Obasanjo who was very critical of him and his government, particularly his second term ambition.
Now, Tinubu has also zeroed in on Obasanjo’s legacy. The National Anthem introduced by Obasanjo has been consigned to the ash heaps of history. Tinubu has reintroduced the original version which Nigeria adopted at Independence. What could be Tinubu’s motive? Maybe to spite Obasanjo. But the National Anthem is not about any individual. It is about the entire country. To seek to trivialize it runs against its significance in our national ethos. But beyond Obasanjo-bashing, is there any compelling reason to make the National Anthem an issue at this point in our national life? I do not see any. What I see instead is the desperation of a government to force a legacy on Nigerians. Otherwise, what difference does it make whether we adopt the first or second national anthem? How many Nigerians know the content of the anthems as to be able to situate it in the context of our national aspirations? As a matter of fact, more than 99 percent of Nigerians cannot recite the national anthem off hand, whether old or new, including those who are trying to forge a legacy around it.
As I noted earlier, Nigerians are dealing with elements whose stock in trade is to feed the public with pious lies. Bereft of any legacy project or anything salutary to talk about, the government has decided to latch on something. Tinubu wants to be on record as the one who reintroduced a National Anthem that was dropped 46 years ago. For him, it is a trophy, indeed, a legacy he wants to be remembered for. But this is a quixotic pursuit. It is a ridiculous relapse into intangibles.
Having run Nigeria in a manner that has shaken the country in the last one year, our expectation is that Tinubu should go into sober reflection. His mood should be subdued. He should have no business with braggadocio or showmanship. A reflective mood is all he needs to know what went wrong. What is the rescue plan? This is the question that should agitate the minds of Tinubu and his cohorts.
As a further demonstration that the Tinubu administration is desperate to have something to say to Nigerians one year after, they made an issue out of street-naming. Just name a street or road after anybody and move on. But not so for Tinubu. To name a road after Wole Soyinka, Tinubu got his man Friday, Nyesom Wike, to dramatize it. They made it look like it was Wike’s idea. But Nigerians cannot be deceived. They know about the behind-the-scene moves. They know that Wike was detailed to make it look as if the President had no prior knowledge of what was to come. The pretension was unintelligent. It was completely infantile.
Perhaps, the government adopted this hide and seek approach to divert our attention, once again, from the real motive behind its action. Soyinka, as we all know, has demystified himself for the sake of Tinubu. He has chosen to kiss the dust just to defend the Tinubu presidency. Those who used to respect him no longer do so. He is now a subject and object of unedifying banter. As part of the spoils accruing to him for the odd job he has been doing, Tinubu has decided to name a highway in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) after him. For Tinubu and his team, naming a highway in the FCT after Soyinka is a legacy. It is an achievement worth celebrating.
Perhaps, what is consoling here is that Nigerians are not taken in by these antics. Even in the face of the hardship they are facing, they are amused that the government is playing to the gallery. Rather than take steps to breathe life into the economy, government is busy trying to impress itself on behalf of Nigerians. Nigerians are hungry and angry. Many of them have given up on their country. They are worried that some individuals are holding the country down. They seem to be powerless. But as they bear their degradation with equanimity, their expectation is that government should, at least, face facts. And the fact is that Nigeria is in death throes. It is in desperate need of rescue. Those at the helm of governmental affairs must understand and appreciate the need to stop politicizing the people’s existence. Nigerians need to eat. They need to enjoy the basic necessities of life. This government has, sadly, taken away all this from them. It is bad enough that the people are deprived. But it is worse that government is playing the ostrich. But no matter how artful they may be in their coverups, the fact remains that all is not well with Nigeria and changing the National Anthem every other day will not bring about the desired change.