National symbols are items of identification and representation of a nation, its people, history and value system.
Some of the national symbols in Nigeria include the National flag, national anthem, national emblem (coat of arms), national motto, seal of the president, national currency and the national passport.
Though many argue to the contrary on social media, disrespect for national symbols could be a serious offence as these symbols represent the nation; hence, disrespecting them invariably amounts to disrespect to the country.
This isn’t a Nigerian policy but a global one that applies in many countries around the world and disrespecting a national symbol is a punishable offence. In the United States, you could be fined or imprisoned for not more than a year or both, for knowingly mutilating, defacing or even trampling on the flag of the United States. This offence is punishable under the Flag protection Act while in India, refusing to sing the national anthem or preventing others from doing so or disturbing an assembly involved in such singing, attracts a term of not more than three years imprisonment and/or with a fine.
And in Nigeria, there are statutes that spell out penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment for people who disregard certain national symbols.
Under the Nigerian Flags and Coat of Arms Act, it is an offence to fly or exhibit the Nigerian Flag in a bad or defaced condition.
Under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, it is an offence to deface the Naira either by tampering with, mutilating, trampling or spraying. The penalty is imprisonment for a term of not less than six months, a fine of not less than N50, 000 or both.
Also, it is an offence to disrespect crafts, artworks, statutes or other objects or sights that serve historical, scientific or cultural interests in Nigeria. The National Commission for Museums and Monuments Act prescribes a penalty of N1,000 or twice the value of such monument (whichever is higher) or to imprisonment for 12 months or to both fine and imprisonment, for the offence of willfully destroying, defacing, altering, removing or excavating any monument.
By the Nigerian Passport (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act which enumerates offences and penalties with respect to the Nigerian Passport. Under Section 1(c), it is an offence to tamper, alter or mutilate a passport or any page(s) of it thereof. The offence is punishable with an imprisonment term of not more than 1 year. See Section 1(2).
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