Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo gave Senator Seriake Dickson 48 hours to clarify the Nigeria Democratic Congress position on the former national anthem.
Keyamo issued the call in a post on his X handle on Saturday. The demand came after some attendees at an NDC town hall meeting in the Oregun area of Lagos State on Thursday sang the former anthem “Arise, O Compatriots” instead of the current anthem “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
Dickson serves as the national leader of the NDC. Keyamo described him as a former classmate and friend.
Keyamo stated that a national anthem stands as one of a country’s national symbols. “It represents a country’s history, values and sovereignty. It is meant to unite citizens,” he wrote.
He continued, “When a group of people decide to defy it and sing something different from what others are singing as prescribed by law, that group is preparing grounds to break away from the country. It is one of the ingredients of secession.”
Keyamo added that endorsement by a group’s leader would make the group an official secessionist movement.
Keyamo then addressed Dickson directly. “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,” he said.
