The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has given the National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Senator Seriake Dickson, 48 hours to clarify whether the party officially endorses Nigeria’s former national anthem.
Keyamo made the demand in a post on his X handle on Saturday, describing the national anthem as a symbol of the country’s history, values and sovereignty.
He argued that singing the anthem different from the one prescribed by law could create grounds for secession, adding that a group whose leader endorses such an action could be regarded as a secessionist movement.
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The minister said a national anthem is meant to unite citizens and represents the identity and sovereignty of a country.
He challenged Dickson, whom he described as his former classmate and friend, to publicly state the party’s position within 48 hours.
Keyamo wrote: “I am therefore officially calling on the original ‘Countryman’, my classmate, my friend and a man of considerable courage from our school days, Senator Seriake Dickson, the official leader of the NDC, to within 48 hours speak up as to whether the NDC officially endorses a proscribed anthem as its own national symbol. The world is waiting.”
The minister’s comments followed an incident at an NDC town hall meeting in the Oregun area of Lagos State on Thursday, where some attendees sang the former national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots”, instead of the current anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”.
The party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was among those seen singing the former anthem and making the NDC’s two-finger gesture.
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