Yes, it has come to that. Nigerians are now being ‘begged’ to love their own country.
The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, last Tuesday asked Nigerians to love their country and not speak ill of it.
His comment follows the hardship and retrogressing fortunes of the country since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu resumed office on May 29, 2023.
Since then, Nigerians have seen a steeper-than-steep rise in living costs, petrol prices, school fees, accommodation, etc.
Elofokanbale, coined from Yoruba language and loosely meaning “Go and relax”, has been used to soothe the pain or maybe add salt to the gaping injury.
As if that was not enough, Issa-Onilu has urged Nigerians to be proud of and stop speaking ill of the country.
“You must endure; we have no other country, and Nigeria is richly endowed with both human and material resources.
“We must never condemn, curse or speak evil about our country. Words have powers,” he said.
He was represented by the agency’s Director of Report Coordination and Improvement, Olubukola Olorunfemi, at a stakeholders’ engagement on the National Anthem, Identity Project, Values Charter and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
“The national anthem reflects the aspirations and value of the founding fathers when you read it word by word, salutation to us, internalise it to our fatherland.
“No matter how bad the situation may be, Nigeria houses all of us, though tribes and tongues may differ.
“We don’t have to deny or pretend about this, that our tongue, tribes, religion, culture, tradition differ but in the midst of all these, it reminds us that in brotherhood we stand,” he added.
I would imagine his joy or otherwise if his 64-year-old child, if he is old enough to have one of that age, came home with all Fs in his final year exams and upon questions, asks his parents to stop speaking ill of him. Who deserves to be spoken ill of if not a 64-year-old who decides to forget the use of his legs and embraces crawling or even sitting on his diapered butt while his friends race ahead.
He doesn’t just say “elofokanbale”; he proudly asks his dad to hire gangan, bata and other percussion instruments to make up the Yoruba traditional orchestra, sekere even, which is reputed to be ineligible to play at gloomy events, to disturb envious neighbours while he dances with his flowing agbada. To celebrate what exactly? This question would not be out of place as there is hardly anything a thoughtful person would celebrate with a 64-year-old failure who his/her birthday some weeks ago.
But Issa-Onilu has urged us to pat this grey-haired dude on the back and celebrate his non-existing achievements.
It may be unsurprising that he has said this, it is the job he gets paid to do. I mean, people work for the dictator of the northern region of an Asian country, who this writer is too afraid to name for fear of execution by nukes, despite his dastardly decisions in the country.
Begging or having to convince Nigerians to love their own country in which they were born shows that all is not well. Thanks to Gen Zs or the many podcasts springing up in every corner of social media, we, the dinosaur generation, have been convinced never to beg for love and flee at any sight or suspicion of love fizzling out. If we are to apply that to the Nigerian/NOA DG conundrum, then Nigerians should flee from Nigeria and if they cannot flee in the japa sense, avoid anything linking them or relating to Nigeria.
The legendary Sound Sultan must be rolling in his grave at that line as his ‘ajo o le da bi ile’ line in his ‘Motherland’ hit has been rendered false.
Let’s look at it from a patriot’s angle. It is not out of place for the NOA to urge Nigerians to love the country, be patriotic, stop saying foul words about the country, etc, but the fact that we have to be begged to love is worrisome. It shows that all is not well with Nigeria. We are struggling, we are in pains, we are headed for the rocks – God forbid, hopefully.
Issa-Onilu isn’t alone in his appeal for unity and loyalty. His call follows an ambitious bid to foster a renewed sense of togetherness by President Tinubu, who changed the Nigerian national anthem itself to “Nigeria we hail thee” on May 29, 2024. The anthem was first adopted on October 1, 1960, before the military government of General Olusegun Obasanjo changed it in 1978.
“This morning, Mr President, signed into an act of Parliament the newly passed national anthem 2024,” Senate President Godswill Akpabio said.
“In our usual tradition, the deputy Senate President and the deputy speaker with the leaders will receive Mr President now and usher him into the chamber for what I call “waka pass”, he added.
“Henceforth, we will not refer to ourselves as dear compatriots; we will refer to ourselves as brothers and as we go forward in battle, whether in the field of sports, in the field of politics, we must hail Nigeria, and so we are all saying today that Nigeria, we Hail thee.”
The anthem, Tinubu suggested, might hold the key to reigniting a shared love for the homeland if the words were refreshed to reflect the hopes of the country. However, this symbolic gesture failed to achieve the intended effect. People had more pressing issues on their minds than a new tune, and critics argued that changing the anthem was merely a distraction from the country’s more urgent problems. For many Nigerians, the problems facing the nation—corruption, poverty, instability—cannot be sung away, no matter how stirring the anthem may be.
There’s a saying that love is a two-way street. Nigerians can’t be expected to pour love and loyalty into a country that gives little in return. President Tinubu’s attempts to foster unity by refreshing the national anthem are, at best, a temporary salve on a deep and festering wound. Changing a song, however heartfelt the intention, can’t erase the harsh reality faced by millions every day.
As for Issa-Onilu’s request for us to “endure” and “never speak ill” of our country—perhaps he’s right that words hold power. But words aren’t magic. They cannot rebuild broken systems, fix ailing institutions or make food and fuel affordable. Until the government takes real, effective steps to address the hardships Nigerians face, patriotism will remain a tall order. People are hurting, and love cannot flourish when suffering and frustration run this deep.
