By Sunday Ani
Co-author of the former Nigerian National Anthem ‘Arise O’compatriots,’ Dr. Sota Omoigui, has said the recent reversal to the colonial national anthem was a betrayal of Nigeria’s independence.
Omoigui described the action as a symbol of a political leadership that is clueless and crawling on its hands and knees to kiss the ring of its colonial master by re-adopting their anthem, including its music and lyrics.
He accused President Bola Tinubu and members of the National Assembly of changing the National Anthem he co-Authored for “Nigeria we hail thee,” saying, “Nigerian leaders want Nigerians to hail the 53 percent unemployment rate of our youths and the 34 percent unemployment rate of our adults. They want us to hail Nigeria for the minimum monthly wage of N30, 000.00, whose earners have to work for three months to purchase a bag of rice that costs N100,000.
“They want us to hail no electricity, roads, pipe borne water, dilapidated and unsanitary schools with no roofs or windows and our children learning knee deep in flood waters under open skies, as rain beats the knowledge out of their heads; dilapidated health care systems, including some of our university teaching hospitals that are death traps, where there are limited medications, a few supplies of equipment, and in many cases, not even running water. Is that the Nigeria they now want us to hail?” he asked.
Lamenting further, he said: “They want to now force Nigerians to sing, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee.’ We should hail being terrorized by bandits and Boko Haram that kidnap our children from school, hijack our citizens on the highway and kill our farmers when they go to their farms.
“One hundred and thirty three million Nigerians, or 63 percent of the population, should hail being multi-dimensionally poor. Our youth whose skeletons are bleached dry by the hot desert sun of the Sahara desert, and whose bodies lie at the bottom of the Mediterranean sea, where they died trying to escape the hopelessness and lack of opportunity of their own not dear native land, are not alive to hail their country.
“Those left behind see the greed, looting and pillaging by their leaders, have no opportunities for economic empowerment and resort to internet scams and fraud, prostitution, banditry and kidnapping to make ends meet. Thus innocent people, both inside the country and globally, have life savings stolen as they are made to pay the price for the corruption of our leaders.”
He maintained that there is nothing more patriotic than ‘Arise O Compatriots,’ insisting that the new Anthem was hypocritical.
He explained the beauty of the anthem he co-authored, saying, “The first two lines of ‘Arise O Compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey,’ is a call to action. It calls on us to serve our fatherland with love and strength and faith. There is nothing more patriotic than that.
“But our leaders have not the foggiest idea of the meaning of patriotism. They are too greedy and simply incapable of living up to the creed of the Nigerian anthem, an anthem with lyrics written by Nigerians and music composed by a Nigerian.
“On October 7, 2006, in her visit to Nigeria, Beyonce as never before, fell in love with a piece of music that wasn’t her composition or planned by her team.”
Dr Omoigui insisted that the colonial anthem was the right anthem at independence and not now because Nigerians people who groan under the yoke of the endemic corruption that afflicts the land and does not allow them to breathe were not going to hail Nigeria.
“Our people who suffer in poverty with a currency that has undergone 1000 percent devaluation since we first wrote the anthem and a minimum monthly wage that creates food insecurity have nothing to hail Nigeria for.
“As I have stated in one of my prior speeches, when food prices exceed the salary of a worker, men sell their dignity and women their honor. Billions budgeted for palliatives to give to the poor and needy are looted and shared among those in the political leadership,” he said.
He challenged the leaders to change their ways and not the anthem, and charged Nigerians to “Arise and resist this modern day slavery. Arise and resist singing this lie of a colonial anthem they want you to sing.”
He emphasized that the only people that should stand up and sing ‘Nigeria we hail thee,’ are looters, thieves, bandits, kidnappers, internet fraudsters, and the politicians who pillage and plunder the commonwealth of the people. “Otherwise if you do not belong to any of these categories and you sing it, you are a liar because there is nothing to hail. The minimum wage is being negotiated from N30, 000 while each Senator earns about N30 million every month. Changing the anthem and expecting a different result is insanity,” he submitted.
While recommending a solution to the myriad of challenges facing the nation, the nationalist said: “If you have to change the anthem, I suggest this verse for you to consider and which embodies your values that you can much more easily live up to – Oh Nigeria, Oh Nigeria; Our haven of delight; From the swamps of the Delta to the hills of Somorika; In cunning we excel; Our hands may grasp, our pockets to fill; In secret deals we find our thrill; Let no one see our secret ways; In darkness we shall stay; With every lie and every bribe, and every loot, we share; We seize another day.”