The National Orientation Agency (NOA) just announced that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved its proposal to make value orientation a priority. This means that the first stanza of Nigeria’s national anthem will be sung at official events, while all three stanzas will be reserved for special occasions like Independence Day, Democracy Day, *Inauguration of the National Assembly, Children’s Day, *Armed Forces Remembrance Day, and Workers’ Day.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos, the Director General of NOA, Lanre Issa-Onilu, represented by Director of Human Resources of NOA, Mrs Olowoyo Ayesola, said citizenship study would also be made a compulsory component of the education system from primary to secondary school.
Her words: “In the last two weeks, NOA has achieved some milestone in its bid to re-engineer the focus of its campaigns nationwide. As you may be aware, we have been advocating for a fundamental approach to value orientation and attitudinal change campaign. Whereas slogans are good for the ear, it does not entrench these values in our hearts. The act that established the agency makes it clear what our mandates are, including communicating government policies, programmes and activities; mobilising support for them and processing feedback to government on these policies.
“It also mandates us to promote democracy as the best model of government and promote values that will ensure peace and orderliness.”
and moral conduct. Over the years, especially in the last one year, we have pursued these mandates with extra vigour.
“In collaboration with our parent ministry, the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the agency submitted for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, some proposals seeking to entrench our value orientation processes. Many of them deal with young age indoctrination, providing the template for evaluation of the Real Nigerian character. All of the memoranda were approved by the FEC.
They include restoration of the dignity and standardisation of national Symbols such as the National Flag, Anthem, Pledge and the Coat of Arm. under this, the Council approved 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 remeberance Day and workers day. That the third stanza of the new National Anthem be adopted as national prayer.”
