Putting Nigeria First.

Mike Omeri and The Editor THISDASY Newspapers Ijeoma Nwogwugwu

Some may say Nigeria does not give the people much cause for devotion to national symbols. But the Director-General of the  National Orientation Agency, Mr. Mike Omeri, is one Nigerian at the vanguard of building patriotism and optimism in the midst of the seemingly dispiriting atmosphere, writes Vincent Obia

Nigeria is generally passing through desperate times. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of things to inspire hope in the world’s biggest abode of black people. From the land that flows with abundant natural resources to a citizenry that Mother Nature has richly blessed with knowledge, talent, and strength, the country certainly shows great promise. But how can this be fulfilled?
The Director General of National Orientation Agency, Mr. Mike Omeri, was in his element last week as he reeled off attitudes and behaviours Nigerians must imbibe to aid fulfilment of the country’s enormous promise. One of such fundamental attitudes, he says, is acting with a unity of purpose.

To try to imbue in the citizens a sense of common aspiration, NOA is leading a campaign to make the second stanza of the national anthem the official prayer at public functions. But in a country where religion is such a hot topic, some have criticised the initiative as reducing prayer, which ought to be led by the Spirit, to another national pledge or mere routine recital. However, Omeri defends the campaign.

“Even the Almighty God who handed religion to us wrote the Ten Commandments. If you look at the second stanza of the national anthem, it is the sum total of the aspiration of Nigerians for their country. So why do you begin to say other prayers when there is a prayer that addresses the issues: how you want your country to be, God’s direction on how we can be our best so that we can have peace and justice, and how the youth can achieve their aspirations based on values,” he says.

“So we are not saying people should not pray. People should pray in their mosques, churches, and shrines. But where you are in a public gathering and you are trying to speak with one voice to God, we advocate that we, as Nigerians, should be able to speak one language that God Himself recommended. It is a Christian prayer, it is a Muslim prayer. All the things in that second verse of the national anthem are the things Muslims and Christians ask from God.”

Omeri believes adopting an official prayer for the country neither deviates from religious precepts nor hurts religious sentiments. 
“I don’t know what we are doing that is a deviation. If you go to church, pray for Nigeria in the manner that you want to, if you go to the mosque, pray in the manner that you want to. If we meet together, let us look for things that emphasise our national unity. Let us stop this idea of dividing ourselves along religious lines even before an occasion starts. People think of the bond within religions, ethnicities, etc.

“The National Assembly has one prayer. Some people would say, how has that helped us? But are the thieves, corrupt politicians, and others in this country not going churches and mosques, why have the prayers not helped them? If we are used to doing certain things in a particular way and we are not getting results because we are talking in Babel of voices, why can’t we talk together as Nigerians?

“So it is not that we don’t want prayer. We want prayer and that is why we are saying we should have one prayer,” the NOA boss says.
He also speaks on the agency’s position on the adoption of distinct symbols like anthems and coat of arms by some states of the federation.

“If you have a symbol,” Omeri says, “it must not be given more prominence than the national symbols. Even in the America that we are copying, every American respects one national flag. People can have state songs and other symbols that are unique to them, but it is not right for people to have flags and emblems and give them recognition far above the national symbols. There is one Green White Green, there is one coat of arms with the two white horses, with the red eagle, and the river depicting Rivers Niger and Benue.

“The national anthem is the primus inter pares. This is the fundamental representation of the independence of our country, the strength, power and authority of our country. So it should be given prominence.

“In fact, I have seen a lot of flag displays that are wrong and I don’t blame the people because they lack adequate information on how to display flags. If you have two or three flags, the Nigerian national flag must be given prominence, that is flown higher above the other flags. If they are two countries’ flags, they are equal. But you cannot bring a state flag or an organisation’s flag and give it the same status as the national flag.

“The pole for the Nigerian flag should either be higher, or the flag is put in front. If the flags are on one line, the Nigerian flag should be on the right. All these are information we will bring to the knowledge of Nigerians so that they know really the position of the flag.”

However, Omeri does not see the question of respect for national symbols as something that must be enshrined in the constitution, but a key civic obligation that should naturally be adhered to. He says Nigerians must learn to trust and respect the leaders they have elected for themselves.

“Let us trust our governments at all levels and exercise our political rights and civic duties. Let’s support the processes being put in place to make sure that people’s votes count. The challenge is to educate Nigerians to be more aware and to discharge their responsibilities to the country.

“If Nigerians understand and accept the transformation agenda, they would drive it as a basis of change for development. Understanding the processes of the transformation agenda is a challenge.”

In May, NOA launched a campaign, “Do the right thing: transform Nigeria,” which aims to encourage Nigerians to take more active and sincere part in the development of the country through participation in various sectors of the economy. What with the growing public attitudes bordering on honesty and integrity, like return of forgotten items, Omeri is happy with the general response to the transform Nigeria campaign.

But he is disappointed with the labour movement in Nigeria over its seeming inconsistency on the question of sanitising the fuel subsidy regime. Labour had sued for a probe of the fuel subsidy management to unearth and prosecute illegal dealings that had cost the country several billions of naira in fraudulent subsidy payments. That quest was part of labour’s agitation when it led a nationwide strike in January following the federal government’s removal of fuel subsidy. In a curious u-turn, however, a key branch of the labour movement, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, a fortnight ago stopped fuel supply to Abuja and its environs to protest federal government’s refusal to pay subsidy claims by some oil marketers alleged to have engaged in underhand deals and fleeced the country.

Omeri says, “I’m surprised that labour would now say government should not do what they had initially encouraged the government to do. But there is no force that would intimidate or stampede government into not implementing the report. What belongs to Nigerians must be given to them. A few people cannot sit down and feast on our common wealth.

“It is negative for labour, because they were the ones who said there should be probe. Government is doing that, and they are saying something else. They are confusing the people.”

NOA, under Omeri, is expanding the platforms of interaction with the citizens in leaps and bounds. The Civic Responsibility Volunteer scheme is one of its strategies for engaging the youth on a platform that is neighbourhood based. It is a process that entails bringing together young talented Nigerians and fresh graduates on purpose to provide them avenues to practicalise their knowledge while waiting for formal employment.

The agency is also collaborating with the private sector and the Consumer Protection Council in the war against fake and substandard items by trying to give Nigerian consumers the right to return substandard goods to their sellers within 28 days of the purchase. Omeri says, “The private sector is happy with it, especially local manufacturers, because it would eliminate fakes. We are still collaborating with the Consumer Protection Council to take the campaign further. We just made initial statements; we need to proceed with advocacy, to explain to traders, manufacturers, government, etc.”

He believes, “National orientation is not a teacher-and-student affair. National orientation is an embodiment of the values that are original to us; values that have been handed down to us, and we are handing them over. It is an all-encompassing project that is targeted at every citizen, from the president to the federal executive council, governors, the media, etc.

“Our reporting should be value-based, aimed to rescue our country and set it on the right part. Let us criticise constructively, let us set the agenda for development.”

It is evidently not easy to achieve NOA’s targets under Nigeria’s current cheerless socio-economic and political circumstances. But many agree that Omeri’s sociability is a virtue that would help him to break the religious, ethnic, gender, and generational divides to get the agency’s message across to most Nigerians. A simple folk, Omeri takes the attitude that people should be treated with open camaraderie – in contrast to the standoffish mien of most government officials in this part of the globe. This habit of his also came out clearly in the course of this Encounter.