The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) is requesting that citizens of Ghana respect national symbols such as the National Anthem, the National Pledge, and any other symbols of the state.
The National Centre for Civic Education (NCCE) issued a statement on Monday, June 12, encouraging residents to stand up whenever they hear the National Pledge or the National Anthem being performed.
The statement made by the NCCE comes in response to a video that has gone viral from the 2023 edition of the Green Ghana Day Celebration, which was held at the University of Ghana.
Respect National Anthem, Pledge -NCCE to Ghanaians
In the video, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo can be seen yelling at the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, and telling him to tell a chief to stand up and observe the National Anthem. The video was organised at the University of Ghana.
The National Council for Civic Education (NCCE) reminded Ghanaian residents that major national symbols, including the National Pledge, the National Anthem, the National Flag, the Coat of Arms, the Ghana Currency, and the Mace of Parliament, represent Ghana's sovereignty and identity.
“The NCCE would like to take this opportunity to remind citizens that it is important to respect national symbols such as the National Pledge, the National Anthem, the National Flag, the Coat of Arms, the Ghana Currency, and the Mace of Parliament, among other symbols and state identities.
These emblems serve to distinguish us as citizens of Ghana, and as such, they are entitled to the respect and courtesy that are befitting of their status.
The National Centre for Civic Education (NCCE) stated further that “the words in our national anthem and the national pledge are sacred.” It is not enough for us, as citizens who genuinely hold religious principles, to simply utter the words; rather, we must sing and repeat them with a great deal of dedication.
This commitment is significant because the words express the values that we have as people who share a common future.
At the sound of both the National Anthem and the National Pledge, it is the civic duty of every citizen of Ghana to stand as a demonstration of respect to the state and to these national symbols, and the Commission would like to remind citizens of this obligation.
The National Centre for Civil and Election Equality (NCCE) lamented the growing trend of disrespect for national symbols.
The National Commission for Civic Education is worried about the growing disrespect for patriotic principles displayed by Ghanaian citizens. The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) issued a statement warning that “this trend is gradually negatively redefining our identity as Ghanaians.”
Read the statement below.
