The Federal Executive Council of Nigeria (FECON) has officially approved the use of the third stanza of the New National Anthem as a prayer during public events in the country.
Additionally, the first stanza of the anthem is now designated to be rendered at all official functions, while all three stanzas will be reserved for special occasions such as Independence Day, Democracy Day, the inauguration of the National Assembly, Children’s Day, Armed Forces Remembrance Day, and Workers’ Day.
This was disclosed by the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Onilu, during a press briefing and stakeholders’ meeting as part of the nationwide sensitisation on the National Values, Charter, and National Anthem at the Akwa Ibom State Directorate of NOA, Federal Secretariat, Uyo.
Onilu, who was represented by the Director of Orientation and Behaviour Modification, Madam Tessy Nnalue, highlighted the significant strides made by the Agency in its efforts to re-engineer the focus of its campaigns nationwide over the past few weeks.
He stated, “As you may be aware, we have been advocating for a fundamental approach to value orientation and attitudinal change campaigns. Whereas slogans are good for the ear, they do not entrench these values in our hearts.”
Explaining further, Onilu noted that the act establishing the Agency makes its mandates clear, including communicating government policies, programmes, and activities, mobilising support for them, and providing feedback to the government. The Agency is also tasked with promoting democracy as the best model of governance and fostering values that ensure peace, orderliness, and moral conduct.
“In collaboration with our parent ministry, the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the Agency submitted for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council, some proposals seeking to entrench our value orientation processes. Many of them deal with young-age indoctrination, providing the template for evaluating the Real Nigerian character. All of the memoranda were approved by the Federal Executive Council,” he noted.
According to him, one of the key achievements includes the “restoration of the dignity and standardization of national symbols such as the National Flag, Anthem, Pledge, and the Coat of Arms.”
“Under this, the Council approved
a. that the first stanza of the National Anthem should be rendered at all official functions, while the three stanzas should be for special occasions such as Independence Day, Democracy Day, Inauguration of the National Assembly, Children’s Day, Armed Forces Remembrance Day, and Workers Day.
b. That the third stanza of the new National Anthem be adopted as national Prayer.
c. That the National Orientation Agency (NOA) as custodian of the National Symbols should be the source of all official symbols to ensure standardisation.
d. September 16 to be observed as a national symbol of enlightenment day in the country.
e. that NOA should vigorously promote these symbols to ensure that they are accorded respect, properly displayed, and handled, including the hoisting of the national flag in public buildings, in order to build up love for country, strong national identity, unity, and pride.
“The Unveiling of the National Values Charter. The Federal Executive Council also approved the mandatory inclusion of the charter as part of the curriculum of schools at both the basic and post-basic schools. This new syllabus will comprise key topics
It also approved the teaching of the national values charter be made a mandatory component of pre-resumption retreat for the federal Executive council members, the national Assembly members, the judiciary and other government appointees.
3. Establishment of National Values Brigade in all schools, both primary and secondary, across the country. This will help to raise model citizens among Nigerian children as ambassadors of values. Creating role models is one of the sustainability strategies of the National Identity Project of the Renewed Hope programme of the present government.
4. Citizenship study to be made compulsory component of our educational system from primary to secondary levels of education. further directing the Federal Ministry of Education, the Nigerian Education Research Development Council, and other relevant government institutions and stakeholders to work with NOA to develop a curriculum for citizenship education.
5. The approval of the nationalisation of cartoon content in Nigeria to break the dominance of foreign cartoons in the country and to promote our values, cultures, heroes, and lifestyles. this will also encourage local cartoon content creators through various forms of government support to create jobs and develop the animation movie sub-sector.
Approved the global implementation of the campaign for national reputation management as part of the National Identity Project.
Approved the change of name from the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) Brigade to the Citizens Value Brigade. The WAI Brigade of the NOA was established during the military era but has remained an anathema, as a democratic government cannot be seen to be waging war against its citizens over indiscipline.
Approved that Value Orientation be made a compulsory component of the one-year mandatory National Youth Service, with NOA working with NYSC to inculcate national values in fresh graduates of higher institutions.
The FEC also approved the constitution of the implementation committee for the National Identity Project, comprising top government officials, selected private sector players, representatives of traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organizations, youth, and women groups. This committee will be co-chaired by representatives of the federal government and the private sector, with the NOA serving as the secretariat,” the Director General explained.
Mallam Onilu informed that the Agency, by law, has been mandated to communicate government policies, programs, and activities, which has compelled him to adopt new methodologies to fulfill this mandate.
He said the new communication platforms target a range of demographics, including the young, the not-so-young, and the elderly.
“The communication world is evolving daily, and it is no longer the same way we could reach our people in the 90s and 2000s as we can now. Young people consume less text; they prefer videos and audios. In fact, about 70% of our population is within the age range of 1 to 35 years.
“For the youth, we have developed tools that can easily reach them within their lifestyle patterns. Chief among them is our website, which is now artificial intelligence-enabled, making it easier for individuals to seek information about the government on the go. NOA’s AI Voice/Chat Assistant, CLHEEAN, is an innovative tool designed to address the challenges of the new media landscape. CLHEEAN facilitates communication on various thematic issues such as crime, lawlessness, health, education, environment, abuse, and nationalism,” he disclosed.
He said a strategic publication, ‘The Explainer Newsletter’, aimed at disseminating accurate and meaningful information about government policies, has been introduced. It is published every Friday and serves as a hub for government-related information.
Additionally, the Mobiliser App, available on both the Play Store and Apple Store, features news feeds, interactive elements, gamification with rewards, educational content, and contest entries to encourage active participation, especially among the youth demographic.
There are in-house platforms such as television and radio studios to enhance NOA’s capacity to produce and dispatch content related to government policies and programmes.
For Social Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) Materials, flyers, handbills, posters, and leaflets are also utilized to inform and elicit behavioral change among citizens, often translated into various languages and dialects. These platforms are part of NOA’s broader strategy to leverage modern communication technologies and methods to effectively reach diverse audience segments across Nigeria.
He mentioned that the agency is currently promoting some policies of the government under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, especially several initiatives aimed at addressing Nigeria’s economic and social challenges, such as:
Student Loan Scheme: Launched to support undergraduates with school fees, with an initial disbursement of over N2 billion to assist more than 20,000 students in six universities.
Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF): A N110 billion fund dedicated to empowering youth in priority sectors to drive economic growth, among other policies.
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