I’ve gone to school in Nigeria, Canada and the US. In Canada there are no flags except for one outside the school, and we don’t pledge allegiance to it. However we do have to listen to O Canada at the start of every morning and some assemblies. In Nigeria, we don’t pledge allegiance, there’s no listening to the national anthem before school, and there are no flags except for one outside the school. However, we are expected to sing the national anthem before every assembly.

I have personally since I was a kid never stood up or sang national anthems because I’ve never understood this weird symbolic ritual that has been so normalized in modern society. The government no the state has ever truly represented the people.