National anthem: Only irresponsible Nigerians will vote for NDC — Keyamo

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said only irresponsible Nigerians will vote for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, over what he described as the party’s defiance of national symbols.

Keyamo spoke on Friday during an interview on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, monitored by DAILY POST in Abeokuta.

His comments followed the controversy over the refusal of some NDC supporters, including the party’s presidential hopeful, Peter Obi, to sing the newly adopted national anthem at a political gathering in Lagos on Thursday.

Instead, Obi, alongside the party’s Lagos governorship candidate, Funso Doherty, and other attendees, sang the former national anthem, Nigeria, We Hail Thee, which was replaced in 1978.

Keyamo said Nigerians would decide whether the conduct demonstrated the level of responsibility and maturity expected of those seeking political leadership.

“Like they say of APC, they say it’s only mad men that will vote for APC. So let me return the campaign slogan, it’s only irresponsible people that will vote for that type of party called NDC that defy national symbols, it’s only irresponsible that will vote for them,” Keyamo said.

He argued that disregarding national symbols, disrespecting the law and showing disregard for the office of the President were issues Nigerians should consider when assessing the party’s suitability for leadership.

“For me, it is left for the Nigerian people to decide whether these human beings you have now seen disregarding national symbols, disrespecting the law and disrespecting the office of the president that they so crave whether they are responsible enough to aspire to that office,” he said.

The minister said while some Nigerians might applaud the action as political defiance, the party could lose the support of voters he described as cerebral and moderate.

“They have lost the cerebral and the in-betweens. They have lost them by that action. Maybe those who are downright irresponsible, they will hail them and they will vote for them. But we’ll see on election day how many Nigerians are irresponsible,” he said.

However, when asked whether singing the old national anthem amounted to a violation of the law, Keyamo clarified that he was unaware of any specific legal penalty attached to the action.

He explained that although the current national anthem had been adopted by law, the absence of a prescribed penalty meant the action did not automatically constitute a punishable offence.

“There’s no penalty that is prescribed by law. No penalty. The law just says this is our new national anthem and then you should think we should all abide by it. It becomes a crime when there’s a penalty attached to it,” he said.

He added that the action was, in his assessment, an act of political defiance, leaving Nigerians to determine whether it reflected the kind of leadership the country required.