Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo, on Saturday condemned critics who have likened the playing of President Bola Tinubu’s campaign song, ‘On Your Mandate We Shall Stand’, to replacing the country’s legally recognized national anthem, arguing that the two are fundamentally different acts.
“Let me educate some mischievous persons who try to equate singing the ‘On Your Mandate’ song, which is used to serenade President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with singing an outlawed anthem in place of a legally approved National Anthem,” Keyamo said in a statement on his official X-handle (formerly Twitter).
The dispute has become the latest flashpoint in the country’s charged political environment, where symbols of statehood, flags, anthems and ceremonial music, increasingly serve as proxies in a contest between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition figures, including former presidential candidate Peter Obi.
Minister Keyamo said supporters of the President have never sung “On Your Mandate” instead of the national anthem.
Rather, he said, the anthem is performed first at official occasions, after which supporters may serenade the President with the campaign song.
“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 said.
He added that Mr. Obi was free to adopt a song of his own – even Nigeria’s former anthem, provided it was performed either before or after the legally recognized anthem had received its due recognition.
The Minister also sought to normalize the use of “On Your Mandate” in official settings, saying that when Tinubu enters an event or rises to speak, the police band often plays an instrumental selection to herald his presence.
In some instances, he said, that selection has been the instrumental version of the president’s campaign song.
“Check all videos of Presidents Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan or Buhari entering the National Assembly or getting up to speak,” Minister Keyamo said.
“It must be preceded by an instrumental from the Police Band.”
He argued that the practice was consistent with presidential protocol and that the anthem had already been played before the campaign tune was used.
The controversy comes amid a broader dispute over Nigeria’s national symbols. In May 2024, President Tinubu signed legislation restoring “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” the anthem used at independence in 1960 and until 1978, replacing “Arise, O Compatriots.”
Keyamo has been particularly forceful in criticizing Mr. Obi and supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress after attendees at a party event in Lagos were seen singing the former anthem. He accused them of disrespecting national symbols, the law and the presidency – while acknowledging that no specific criminal penalty is prescribed for singing the old anthem.
“A National Anthem is one of a country’s national symbols,” Keyamo wrote.
“It represents a country’s history, values and sovereignty.”
He went further, warning that a group’s deliberate use of an alternative anthem could signal an intent to break away from Nigeria.
The Minister gave NDC leader Senator Seriake Dickson 48 hours to clarify whether the party officially endorsed the former anthem.
