As a primary school kid in the Ugwunta village of Ovim, I observed that there were only two villagers with TVs (others were those living in the cities whose TVs were available only when they visited the village). Those two TVs – black and white types – were community treasures. Through them, we watched football games, and enjoyed Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) shows’ like he Masquerade and Tales by Moonlight. As Zebrudaya, Gregory, Jegede, etc did their stuff, the lady anchoring Tales by Moonlight was shaping the minds of the Nigerian kid.
Simply, the government had absolute control of what we listened to and watched, and through the National Orientation Agency (NOA) was able to program the minds of the Nigerian youth. And it worked – the government was supreme, with immense power and in an uncontested state. Yes, the government controlled all narratives.
Fast forward today, with Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, etc, the government has LOST most controls to influence the Nigerian youth. We call that disintermediation in the startup world; digital tools have cut-off the government, and it is largely powerless.
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But here, the government wants to fight back, and the latest is to use law to do the job of NTA and NOA: “The House of Representatives has introduced the Counter Subversion Bill 2024,..The bill, sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, proposes stringent penalties for Nigerians who fail to recite the national anthem, as well as for those who destroy national symbols or deface places of worship. According to the bill, anyone found guilty of refusing to recite the national anthem could face a fine of N5 million, a 10-year prison sentence, or both.”
By this law, these men and women do not understand how digital technology works. It is not the abundance of Supply that wins, but the influencing of Demand, via aggregation that thrives. And to aggregate, you must offer value to the “subjects”. If Nigeria does not inspire and offer value, it must better spend its national budget on prisons, because most young people may actually not care about the national anthem. (I am just analyzing technology patterns; I sing the anthem.)
Why do I think so? When I joined Diamond Bank Lagos, the impact it had on my life made my admiration absolute. For 3 years, I did not go on vacation; I worked on Christmas Day, New Year Day and all holidays. And I memorized its vision and mission statements because it was a tough love for a company which made a village boy a “BIG boy”. And when I was leaving, I asked the bank to reverse some monies it paid me, as I was leaving and would be unable to work for it.
Get the message: a nation must inspire the youth to get them to salute with love and unalloyed belief! Nigeria should wish those kids sing from their hearts, and not just the movement of the lips. That is the real national challenge, and is more important than the lyrics of the anthem.
Of course, you may ask if that is really an important matter considering the economic challenges in the nation.
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The bill is illegal, so even if it becomes a law, it’s still illegal, because it runs against the constitution. There is right of expression, right to dissent. Since illiteracy is not illegal, how do you punish someone who tells you that he cannot sing the anthem simply because he cannot memorize the words? Some battles are unwinnable, this is one of them.
Again, you can neither legislate love nor patriotism, so it doesn’t matter how forceful you sound, if the people don’t feel it from the inside, you are just wasting your time.
It’s obvious that we are paying lawmakers who have become extremely unproductive; this is the sort of things you come up with when you have completely lost your way. Nigeria is unfortunate.