Keyamo Claims NDC's Old Anthem Use Shows Push for Separation

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has accused the Nigeria Democratic Congress of showing signs of wanting to break away by singing Nigeria’s old national anthem instead of the current one.

Keyamo shared his thoughts on X on Saturday. He also defended the song, On Your Mandate, used by supporters of President Bola Tinubu, stating it was never sung in place of the national anthem.

The minister was reacting to critics who compared Tinubu’s campaign song played at public events with supporters of NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, reciting the old national anthem during a meeting in Lagos.

This incident took place on Thursday at the party’s gathering in the Oregun area. There, Obi and others recited the former anthem, ‘Arise, O Compatriots’, instead of the current national anthem, ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’.

Keyamo stated, “At no time have supporters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sung ON YOUR MANDATE IN PLACE of the National Anthem. At every occasion, the NATIONAL ANTHEM is always sung as a mark of recognition of one of our most important national symbols, and then the President is serenaded by his supporters with ON YOUR MANDATE.”

He added that nobody is stopping Obi from using a song, including the former national anthem. But he insisted it should be sung before or after the current anthem.

“Nobody stops Peter Obi from adopting a song, even the old anthem, as his own song. But it must be sung either before or AFTER the legally recognised National Anthem is given its due RECOGNITION,” he said.

The minister explained that the Police Band usually plays music when the President arrives at an event or gets ready to speak. He noted that the band sometimes plays the instrumental of On Your Mandate to introduce the President’s speech, but only after the national anthem.

“Check all videos of Presidents Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan or Buhari entering the National Assembly or getting up to speak. It must be preceded by an instrumental from the Police Band. In this case, the Police Band sometimes plays the ON YOUR MANDATE instrumental to herald the President’s speech. This comes AFTER THE NATIONAL ANTHEM has been played,” Keyamo said.

He also pointed out that some states have their own anthems, which are usually sung after the national anthem.

However, Keyamo criticized the NDC’s choice to sing the old national anthem instead of the current one. He said it shows a wish to form a separate country.

“Singing an outlawed anthem IN PLACE of a legally approved NATIONAL ANTHEM by the NDC is surely an expression of a desire to have a separate country, and that is an INGREDIENT OF A SECESSIONIST GROUP,” he said.

The National Anthem Act 2024 was signed by Tinubu on May 29, 2024. It restored ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’, which was the national anthem from independence in 1960 until it was replaced by ‘Arise, O Compatriots’ in 1978.