Deconstructing Nigerian Symbols of National Identity

Deconstructing Nigerian Symbols of National Identity:

Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Preamble

The gravity of the insults heaped on the collective intelligence of Nigerians by the subliminal symbolisms embedded in our national flag, national anthem, coat of arms, corporate logos and currencies, is unbelievable. The Nigerian psyche is being very subtly brutalised, and subordinated to the chauvinistic wet dreams of some amorphous, devious and self-deceiving indigenous colonial mafia. Those symbols of Nigeria’s national identity contain concepts that are diametrically opposite to our hopes and aspirations as a Federation.

The Nigerian Flag:

The emphasis placed here on the need for careful selection of colours for Nigeria’s national flag is not as trivial as it might seem. Serious-minded nations take their choice of flags and other national symbols very seriously. In order to better illustrate our argument and its context, we will take a hint or two from the national colours of the US of A, the UK, Russia, France and South Africa.

The American Rebellion (Revolution) was essentially designed, developed and implemented by a closely knit clique of like-minded world-acclaimed Freemasons, who understood the significance of symbols and colours in the lives and fortunes of nations and individuals. And so, on securing their independence (freedom), the founding fathers of the US of A proceeded to carve out a unique and metaphysically robust identity for their country. Their flag comprises red and white horizontal stripes (just like the Masonic banner!) and a blue patch, on the top left hand corner of the body of the flag, containing an array of five-pointed stars, equivalent in number to the number of states in that country at any point in history. Americans pledge their allegiance, all their lives, to the magical colours: red, blue and white!!

The coat of arms of the US of A is composed of an American bald-headed eagle, with its majestically widespread wings, clutches an olive branch (peace) on its right claws, and seven deadly arrows (war) on its left claw. The national motto is , "E pluribus, Unum": Out of many, One. The context of coat of arms of the US of A is dynamic: The bald-headed eagle faces the direction of the olive branch at peace time, but shifts and faces the direction of the arrows in times of war!

The Union Jack is an amalgam of the flags of the constituent ethnicities (England, Scotland and Wales) of the United Kingdom. The dominant colours of the Union Jack are red, blue and white!! In the mind of an average Briton, irrespective of his tribal origin, the unity of the Kingdom is not in doubt. They are all equal stakeholders in their flag, the Union Jack. There is something in the Union Jack for the Welsh, Scots and English.

Prior to its collapse, the egalitarian former Soviet Union had a flag that projected belligerence at first sight, with an overwhelming dominance of blood-red colour (war) all over the body of the flag. A hammer and sickle (symbolising industry and agriculture) were positioned at the top left hand corner of the flag. The inherent symbolisms of the flag of the USSR were the self-contradicting themes of war, industry and agriculture. At the collapse of the USSR, the new Russia changed gears and national symbols concurrently. The new Russian flag now consists of red, blue and white horizontal bands!!!

The French national flag is composed of red, white and blue vertical bands. The red and blue aspects of the French flag represent the (red-blooded) peasants and (blue-blooded) aristocrats of France who were perpetually at each other’s throat prior to the French Revolution. Uniting these two foes - the aristocrats (blue) and the peasants (red)- is Peace (white). The national slogan in post Revolution France is, "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité": Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood. Straight to the point !

In the bad old days, Apartheid South Africa’s flag essentially had a blue background with both the Union Jack and the Dutch national flag positioned firmly in its centre. However, with the collapse of Apartheid governance, South Africa changed gears and flag. The new South African flag now consists of red, blue, white, green and black colours.

Brash as it may seem, but quite frankly, the Nigerian flag is one of the most uninspiring, unimaginative and lifeless national flags ever flown in the world. It is completely devoid of aesthetics, context, impact or meaning. Green-White-Green: Agriculture-Peace-Agriculture. Big deal. Fantastic! And so, what? What arrant tripe! How more tasteless, unrepresentative, un-original and un-serious can a flag be?

There are indications of affinity and consistency with religious symbolism in the choice of green as a dominant colour on the Nigerian flag. And by the way, the dominant colours (green and white) on the Nigerian flag are also the dominant colours of:

The banner of the Sokoto Sultanate.

The flags of the Kingdom Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Libya and a host of similar ‘theocentric’ nations of the Islamo-Semitic kind.

The banner and head bands of Jihadist processions and Mujahideen (Holy Warriors) like the PLO and Al Qaeda.

Wittingly or not, at the subliminal level of perception, the choice of our national colours, at independence, subverted our hopes and aspirations as Nigerians, with brazen dishonesty and callous impunity. What exactly is unique about "AGRICULTURE" and "PEACE", apart from the ironic fact that they are in short supply in Nigeria? What, in our history, justifies our overt alignment with universally recognised quasi-feudal tendencies and/or theocratic symbolism? With whose permission did the Sokoto Sultanate metamorphose into the (so-called) Federal Republic of Nigeria? What are the intellectual and creative credentials of the designers of our national symbols: flag; coat of arms, national anthems, currencies etc? Who gave them the authority to impose their palpable lack of imagination, taste and purpose, on each and everyone of us?

Generally speaking, the dominant colours of the flags of most industrialised countries are red (or orange), and/or blue and/or white. For most under-developed (Third World) countries, particularly African countries, the dominant colours of their flags are green and/or black and/or red (or yellow). In a sense, this observation generates a kind of Chicken & Egg Paradox: The choice of national colours dictates the developmental status of a nation. The developmental status of a country determines its choice of colours. Nations align themselves (subconsciously) in a manner consistent with their national colours. Wrong colours produce wrong nations. Wrong nations choose wrong colours!! Unfortunately for Nigerians, our so-called founding fathers, some of who did not believe that Nigeria would be "ripe" for independence by 1956, probably deliberately chose to impose the wrong colours on Nigeria, and this is seriously dragging Nigerians, and everything about Nigeria, down.

Metaphysically speaking, we have been very reckless with our choice of national colours. Definitely, we must jettison the colour green from any proposed alternative to the current Nigerian flag. Other variants of this insane fixation for the colour green include, the Green Eagles, the N20 and N100 notes; the Green Revolution; the dome of the National Assembly Building, the green berets and neck bands of the Nigerian Mobile Police Force (our own local Mujahideen?), etc.

The Nigerian Coat of Arms:

The major features of the Nigerian coat of arms are:

An apparently docile, yet watchful, Red Eagle (or is it a hawk?) perched on top of a shield.

A shield that overtly symbolises Nigeria.

Two white horses.

A banner with the national motto.

The Nigerian Red Eagle pervades the consciousness of Nigerians. This Red Eagle appears on (top of) the crests of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, NDA, Nigerian Police, Custom Service, Prison Service, Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, and so on, and so forth, ad nauseam.

Incidentally, the original logo of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) consisted basically of an owl (with wide spread wings), superimposed on a caution sign. But immediately after the founding team of the FRSC left, the ubiquitous and placid Red Eagle was quickly positioned firmly (on top) the owl!... Haba!!!!!

Notice also that this same eagle is on the coat of arms of most Arab countries. This kind of eagle is definitely different from the eagle on the coat of arms of say, the US of A, or Germany or some former Eastern bloc European nations. The Nigerian Red Eagle is of the same breed as the eagles on most Arab coats of arms. They look alike: seemingly passive, yet predatory. They are together in the comity of eagles.

The black background of the shield on the Nigerian coat of arms also depicts the Rivers Niger and Benue (confluence inclusive), flowing straight down southwards: North, East and West are clearly depicted; There is no Niger Delta; No Atlantic Ocean. No Gulf of Guinea. No Bight of Benin. No Bight of Biafra. The land mass of the shield’s North is smaller than those of either the shield’s West or the shield’s East. Reality turned upside-down.

.As for those two white horses, God only knows… Why horses? Whose horses?

The most current motto of the Federal republic of Nigeria is "Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress". What a mindless collection of bogus and vague abstract nouns! One is yet to see a federation on this planet that repeatedly fixates its being, as Nigeria, with the nebulous notions of "UNITY", "indivisibility" and paranoid anxiety about its "CORPORATE EXISTENCE", while at the same time, deliberately overheats its polity, in thought, words and deed, with ethnic acrimony.

Faith, by the way, happens to be what most Nigerian citizens do not have in their country. Their leaders ensure.

Nigeria has not known any peace or progress since "Peace and Progress" were smuggled into our coat of arms by General Olusegun Obasanjo, during his first term as Head of State of Nigeria.

(Please Note Well: Between 1976 and 1979, citizen Olusegun Obasanjo served his first term as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 1985 to 1995 defined citizen Ibrahim Babangida’s first and second terms as President, Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, while 1999 to 2003 defines citizen Olusegun Obasanjo’s second and final term as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.)

While we are still on the subject, let us digress and ponder:

Why is it that ONLY Nigerians refer to their Heads of State as President, (and) Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces?

Do we need to be continually reminded that the control of ultimate political power in Nigeria goes hand-in-hand with the control of military power?

Why did some senior military officers base the acceptability of an elected Presidential candidate on their perception of his suitability or otherwise of being their Commander-in-Chief?

Is the President of the US of A not a Commander-in-Chief? Is the President of Russia not a Commander-in-Chief? Is Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, not a Commander-in-Chief and Defender of the Faithful (of the Anglican Communion?

Do we need to be reminded that our (poor and militarily impotent) country indeed has a Commander-in-Chief of an army built on a foundation of colonial errand boy mentality, rank indiscipline, Machiavellian mindset, overt anti-intellectualism and obsolete weaponry, in this age of laser-guided, computer-assisted, cave-bursting saturation bombing!? What manner of scatter-brained banana republic military elitism are we nurturing in Nigeria?

Must our Presidents, Vice Presidents, Governors, Deputy Governors and their respective spouses be referred to as their Excellencies, even when our ambassadors and OPEC representatives are also called their Excellencies?

Do the citizens of the US of A refer to their President as His Excellency, President, (and) Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of the United States of America, Mr. George W. Bush? (What a mouth full!)

Why must our Head of State still make televised state broadcasts with BOTH the Nigerian national flag and the colours of the Armed Forces of Nigeria at the background, long after his former Supreme Military Council (SMC), long after Babangida’s Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) and long after Abacha’s Provisional Ruling Council (PRC)?

Indeed, at the symbolic level, Nigeria is completely surrounded by the trappings of military and feudal authority: a falcon and two durbar horses. Obviously, some funny kind of war is being waged by our compatriots without our knowledge. Why?

The Nigerian National Anthem:

The original national anthem of the Federation of Nigeria at independence ("Nigeria, We hail thee...") was smuggled out, in place of the new national anthem ("Arise! O Compatriots…") by the Federal Military Government under General Olusegun Obasanjo, during his first term as Head of State, (and) Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a quarter of a century ago. The reasons given then were not only bereft of logic, they were downright fraudulent. We were told that the UNCONSTITUTIONAL replacement of our national anthem was imperative, just because the old national anthem contained such phrases as "our own dear native land" and "though tribe and tongue may defer". And so, without consultation, without a referendum about the desirability or otherwise of the need for a change, without any serious competition to seek an alternative to our national anthem, a replacement was forced down our throats by military fiat. Just like that!

The creative and intellectual limitations of the designers, producers and directors of the new national anthem are graphically displayed in the tempo, rhythm and lyrics of the anthem. The tempo of the new national anthem of Nigeria is very similar to the tempo of a typical Nigerian village school brass band of the 1950s: staccato! The rhythm of the new Nigerian national anthem is a cross between pre-1960s Kokoma music and the kind of martial music played by a standard Nigerian Police band on a parade ground, on a rainy day, in honour of the departed souls of World War I veterans. When played alongside most other national anthems, especially in diplomatic circles, and during airport reception formalities for visiting Heads of State, the new Nigerian national anthem is simply comic relief.

The new national anthem of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is one of the several bye-products of institutionalised mediocrity in contemporary Nigeria: Typically, half-baked ideas are championed by intellectual dwarfs, who painstakingly mentor, chaperon and propel their pet ideas to unimaginable heights, and then proceed to brandish, with rabid impunity, such cock-eyed contraptions as their very own earth-shattering contributions to Nigerians and humanity at large.

The lyrics of the new Nigerian national anthem, unlike those of the original national anthem, are very macho and militaristic:

"Arise! O compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey. To serve our fatherland. With love and strength and faith. The labours of our heroes past (presumably Nigerian Civil War heroes!) shall never be in vain. To serve with heart and might. One nation bound in freedom, peace and UNITY."

Contrast these with the lyrics of the original national anthem:

"Nigeria, we hail thee, our own dear native land. Though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand. Nigerians all are proud to serve our sovereign motherland."

The original Nigerian national anthem was simply true to itself:

O Yes! Nigeria is our NATIVE LAND. We hail our own dear native land. No apologies.

Obviously, our ethnicities and languages differ, but we are reminded by that anthem that, despite our primordial differences, we are brothers!

Nigerians should be PROUD to serve their SOVEREIGN motherland, and not forced to "Arise!", "obey", and "serve" their FATHERLAND (grudgingly) with "strength" and "might", "bound in unity." It is not surprising that most Nigerians, including those clowns of the long military interregnum of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s (C-in-Cs, Milgovs and Milads, who terrorised civil servants and public officers with the dread of loss of jobs on condition of reciting the new national anthem), do not know the lyrics, particularly of the second stanza, of their new national anthem!

The Nigerian Currencies:

The denominations of currency notes in Nigeria are as characterised in the table below:

Currency Denomination	Major Symbolic Features And Remarks
Five Naira (N5) Dominant colour: Violet	Portrait of Alhaji (Sir) Tafawa Balewa, Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1960 ~ 1966). Assassinated in office.
Ten naira (N10) Dominant colour: Orange/Red	Portrait of Dr. Alvan Ikoku, private educationist. Died naturally.
Twenty Naira N(20) Dominant colour: Green.	Portrait of General Murtala Mohammed, active mutineer in the July 1966 revenge coup d’etat, G.O.C. 2^nd Division of the Nigerian Army when the Central Bank of Nigeria, Benin City, was looted, and also when Asaba underwent ethic cleansing, following the entry of his troops into those cities during the Nigerian Civil War, Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1975 ~ 1976). Assassinated in office.
Fifty Naira (N50) Dominant colour: Blue.	Portrait of three male Africans (Nigerians?) dressed in the stereotypical costumes of the three major contenders for political , economic, and military dominance in the Nigerian power space. There is also a portrait of an African woman whose ethnicity is indeterminate. These portraits are set against a background of the map of Nigeria. The ubiquitous (Nigerian) eagle makes a seemingly phantom appearance on the N50 note
One hundred Naira (N100) Dominant colour: Brownish red	Portrait of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Leader of the Action Group (AG) and Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), 1st Premier of Western Nigeria, and presidential aspirant in the first and second republics. Frustrated out of national political relevance in later life. Died naturally
Two hundred Naira (N200) Dominant colour: Green)	Portrait of Alhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto, Leader of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), First Premier of Northern Nigeria. Assassinated in office.
Five hundred Naira N500) Dominant colour: Burgundy and Indigo.	Portrait of Dr. (Sir) Nnamdi Azikiwe, Leader of the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), First Premier of Eastern Nigeria, First Governor-General of the Federation of Nigeria, First Senate President of the Federation of Nigeria, First ceremonial President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and presidential aspirant in the first and second republics. Owelle of Onitsha, Frustrated out of national political relevance in later life. Died naturally

Of all the personalities depicted on Nigerian naira denominations of currency notes, Alvan Ikoku was the only one that (1) was not assassinated, or (2) was not frustrated out of national relevance, or (3) was not a politician (military or civilian), or (4) was not a champion of ethnic or regional or religious politics. The rest of them had one or a combination of the above attributes.

All of the seven denominations of naira notes have some strange Arabic inscriptions on them. We have been duly enlightened by some unrepentant Nigerian apologists of Arab colonial mentality that those inscriptions are just harmless indicators of the value of the respective denominations, in Arabic script, supposedly for the benefit of non-Roman script-literate, but Arabic script-literate Nigerians. When did it become so obligatory for government to communicate to Nigerians in English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Arabic, as a matter of policy? Incidentally, the logo of the Nigerian Army also has some strange Arabic scribbles, whose meaning is lost to those of them who are Arabic script-illiterate. Furthermore, the general background graphic designs of all Nigerian naira notes are overtly "Arewa" calligraphic symbolisms of pre-colonial Northern Nigerian art. Why?

When one couples the underlying implications of the contents and contexts of our national flag, coat of arms, national anthem and national currencies, a very depressing scenario emerges: a very dangerous scenario in which Nigerians are being and subliminally seduced to accept a rather simplistic philosophy of benign feudalism, cultural anthrax, evasive political myopia, and deep-rooted economic diarrhoea.

Certainly, the inappropriateness of Nigeria’s national symbols contributes very adversely to the nation’s fortunes and worldview. In essence, the Nigerian flag, coat of arms, national anthem and naira notes are symbols of belligerence, siege mentality and internal colonisation.

We propose a complete review of the contents and impacts of Nigeria’s national symbols for the better, without any further delay. For a start, the Nigerian flag and coat of arms must be change with maximum despatch. Any useful suggestions?

We solicit and look forward to the active contribution of the Nigerian cerberliterati in this quest.

(To be continued.)

January 2002.