The Second Stanza Of The National Anthem: A National Prayer

The Nigerian National Anthem is usually performed at major events having to do with national pride,such as the President's address,major sporting events and at school where it is usually accompanied by Nigeria's National Pledge. The anthem was adopted in 1978. The lyrics are a combination of words and phrases taken from five of the best entries in a national contest. The words were put to music by the Nigerian Police Band under the directorship of Benedict Elise Odiase. Unarguably,many people are conversant with the first stanza of the anthem and the National Pledge but the second stanza is rarely sung by people. This has made the stanza almost forgotten by Nigerian even some leaders. As we celebrate our independence again and 49years of much struggle without reasonable achievements,lets reflect on the second stanza of our anthem,believing that things will be better. I believe that the proper understanding of this stanza may make us change our wrong notions against our nation. The second stanza has eight(8) lines and is more of a prayer than a mere song. Be open-minded as we reflect on it. In the first line,'O God of creation',the nation recognised God as 'The First' in everything that is to be done. Whether you call Him God,Allah,Oluwa or Chineke,recognising the God who created everything including you and our nation,should be a priority in our plans,decisions and actions. If this recognition is in place,we'll definitely seek to do nothing but His will alone. In the second line,'Direct our noble cause',we called God who we've recognised to support our ideas that are very impressive in size and quality. This means that God can only support our ideas and decisions that are splendid and on the other hand shun the ignoble ones. He is not to be blamed for the outcome of any evil decision or action taken. Are we living up to the agreement? Maybe,we're paying the price for the actions we took that God didn't approve of. In the third line,'Guide our leaders right',God was called to guide our leaders to do the right things. He is able to do that but needs the consent and submission of the leaders. You can only take a horse to the stream but cannot force it to drink from it. So is it with our leaders. God is willing to guide them but the problem is that they may not be ready to listen or may do their wishes against God's guidance. In the fourth line,'Help our Youth the truth to know',God was called to help our youths to know the truth. The youths are our future,our strength and hope. The truth is needed due to its potency to set free. God can reveal the truth or secret of success to the youths so that we wont make the mistakes that were made by our ancestors in the past. Where are the youths today? They've resorted to all kinds of vices. May God help us. In the last four lines,'In love and honesty to grow,And living just and true. Great lofty heights attain,To build a nation where peace and justice reign',we have a part to play with God strengthening us. The sole responsibility of building our nation is in the hands of you and I. No one is exempted. In the first four lines,it was God doing this and doing that,but in the last four lines,we are to contribute in the 'building project'. God'll not do everything for us. We'll have to do some. We must have a change of mentality. We must change the bad image of this nation that we are carrying and spreading. We must love our nation and everyone living therein. The evil practices going on should be hated and avoided passionately but the nation herself should be loved. Irrespective of the status quo,we've one nation and can't afford to regret coming into the world through this nation. Our actions should be justifiable and true. We're to do the things that are morally fair and reasonable,correct and real. Honesty should not be neglected. It is our ability to always tell the truth and never stealing or cheating;not hiding the truth about something. The rich,the poor,the learned,the unlearned,the elite,the clerics,the less priviledged and the whole populace are to get involved. Lets not hesitate to say this 'prayer' passionately,make its lyrics our actions and prepare for the required change. Remember that it is only when we've done our part of this 'prayer' and have allowed God to do His part that we'll grow. After our concerted efforts,we'll be poised to attain great lofty heights. We're to build this nation with God's support. Until we come together to build this nation,we may never find peace and justice. We're still one nation despite our miscellaneous tribes- Igbo,Hausa,Yoruba,or any other tribe. Lets stop fighting ourselves,unite with one purpose and in one accord arise to build this nation. If we allow this nation to collapse,we'll be crushed within. Nigerians,Arise and Build with Patriotism. Happy Independence.