How do we learn about Nigeria's history?

I had never heard of the name Benedict Odiase until two days ago when I came across a blog posting announcing his death. Judging by the comments, very few people had heard of this man.

Odiase, who died Tuesday in his sleep, is the man behind the most important Nigerian song– the national anthem, which he composed in May 1978. According to various reports of his death, he was once the music director of the Nigerian Police Band and retired in 1992 as a deputy commissioner of police.

Pa Benedict Odiase composed the Nigerian national anthem. He died Tuesday.

Here's what Nigerian newspaper The Sun says about Odiase.

As a composer per excellence, Odiase wrote and composed Nigeria’s National Anthem, Arise O Compatriots in May 1978. The Federal Government had in that year thrown open the competition to Nigerians to compose the National Anthem. Odiase, like every other Nigerian sent his entry and he was subsequently shortlisted along with two other great composers- Professors Laz Ekwueme and Akin Euba.

Eventually, the Federal Government through Mr. Christopher Oyesiku, leader of the then Federal Radio Corporation oF Nigeria (FRCN), announced Odiase as winner of the competition and this entry was formally chosen as the country’s National Anthem on October 1, 1978.

You can read The Sun's full story here.

I've sung Nigeria's anthem thousands of times, the words rolling effortlessly from my mouth without so much a thought about its origin. Odiase was so unknown at the time of his death that I couldn't find one report stating his age.

In my time here in Joburg (in addtion to my previous time spent in Cape Town and Joburg in 2010,) I've come to realize that South Africa's history is one of its most treasured valuables. You can find a museum or historical landmark at the turn of every street; each with a different highlight just as captivating as the next. But in my native country Nigeria, we run away from our history. We don't want to tell our story. While I've known about the national museum in Lagos since childhood, I've never felt compelled to visit. Not until I read the heavily criticized Chinua Achebe book, There Was A Country, about the celebrated author's personal experience and opinion about Nigeria's civil war, also known as The Biafran War.

Literary icon Chinua Achebe is best known for penning the acclaimed "Things Fall Apart."

 Achebe's detailed account of the darkest period in Nigeria's history, which was released last year, was viewed negatively by many Nigerians who questioned his decision to release a book that revisited the massacres of Igbos in the late '60s through the early '70s. To this day, many Igbos, my mother included, refuse to talk about what they went through during this period. Some of them still hold a grudge against the Yorubas, particularly Obafemi Awolowo, who they blame for deliberately starving innocent children to death. Varying reports of the number of deaths during this war range between hundreds of thousands to more than a million. Yet, we were never taught about this period in primary or secondary school. There were no school trips to the National Museum. the slave sections of Badagry or any historical site that would help keep the memory alive of how Nigeria came to be what it is today.

Upon his death in March, Achebe was celebrated by Nigerians as a literary icon and given a national burial attended by many dignitaries, including Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan. It was a far cry from what many felt Achebe would want since he had repeatedly turned down significant national honors bestowed on him by the country's leaders because of the poor state of its citizens.

Which brings me to one of the many problems in Nigeria. Why are the country's most intelligent and important figures not properly recognized or respected while alive? Why do we wait until their deaths to remember them for their achievements? Why do we run away from our past instead of embracing it like South Africans do. No doubt, much of Nigeria's history was birthed in turmoil and grief, but it is still important that we tell these stories in our schools. It is vital that we pass it on for generations to come so our children's children will understand how we became the Nigeria that they were born into and why we sing, "Arise O Compatriots, Nigeria's call obey."

Writer's note: I've made a mental note to visit the National Museum on my next trip to Nigeria and hope to share my experience here when it happens.