President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, appended his assent to a bill by the National Assembly for the return of the colonial era national anthem, tagged ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’.
The old national anthem replaced the 1978 version: ‘Arise O’ Compatriots’
The development attracted wide condemnation by Nigerians, who described it as a misplaced priority amid gruelling economic hardship triggered by Tinubu’s twin policy of fuel subsidy removal and floating of the naira.
Rejecting the return of the old national anthem, a former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, declared she should keep singing the old national whenever required at any public function.
In a post on her X handle, Ezekwesili labelled the law signed by Tinubu to return the old national anthem as “obnoxious” and repugnant to all who are of good conscience in Nigeria.
“Let it be known to all and sundry that I, Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, will, whenever asked to sing the Nigerian national anthem…”
She added, “With all the horrible indicators on the state of governance? So, it is a new National Anthem that is their priority? I frankly thought it was a joke and gave it no attention. What an egregious case of ‘Majoring in the Minor’ this is!”
She called on Nigerians to save themselves as “no one is coming to save us, citizens of Nigeria.”
“We all must someday decide to collectively save ourselves and this country from these overpaid, unethical, incompetent and incapable ‘Lawbreakers’ in the @nassnigeria and their similarly characterised collaborators in the Executive and Judicial branches of Government across this Land,” Ezekwesili wrote.
The return of the old national anthem was similarly roundly condemned by Senator Sheu Sanni, who in a post on his X handle on Wednesday, wrote: “Nigeria is facing serious economic and security challenges but it’s prioritising changing its national anthem. We have a bacterial infection, so we opted for Prada fragrance instead of Penicillin.”
The Senate had on Tuesday passed the bill, a week after it scaled through at the House of Representatives.
Tinubu, while signing the bill into law on Wednesday at a joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, called for collective actions to build the nation.
Justifying the return to the old national anthem, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, described it as one of the most significant things achieved during Tinubu’s first year in office.
Akpabio, addressing Tinubu, said, “Of all the significant things you have done, I think one of the most important is to take us back to our genealogy; the genealogy of our birth. That though we may belong to different tribes, though we have different tongues, in brotherhood we must stand. Whether in the field of battle or politics, we must hail Nigeria. The best place to start this revolution is the National Assembly where we have the elected representatives of the people.”
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, also thanked Tinubu “for bringing back the national anthem we grew up with.”
“For the young ones, by the time you sit down and read it line by line and word by word, you will see why it is very important for Nigeria to revisit its former national anthem. If we can follow it to its logical conclusion, Nigeria will be a much better nation,” the Speaker said.
The Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, said the old national anthem would return Nigeria to its lost glory.
“I am thrilled with the return to our old national anthem as a major step towards the country’s return to glory days. This was an era of prosperity when the economy worked, infrastructure was in top shape, agriculture was still the main thing and our educational system was among the best.
“This anthem, with its familiar lyrics and stirring melody, evokes a sense of nostalgia and patriotism in the hearts of many Nigerians. It reminds us of our history, our struggles, and our triumphs. Its return is a welcome move that resonates with citizens from all walks of life,” Agbese said.
More condemnation
Reacting to the new law, Nigerians from different walks of life to popular microblogging sites, X and Facebook to express their dissatisfaction with the change.
Another X user, Fola Afolayan tweeting as @TheFavoredWoman, wrote, “Changing the Nigerian national anthem written by a Nigerian, to the song written by colonisers is a stupid decision and it’s shameful that nobody in the National Assembly thought to stand against it.”
@Waspapping wrote,” I hope this new national anthem helps lower food prices, reduce tuition fees, provide at least five hours of stable electricity, address insecurity, and alleviate poverty in the country.”
In her reaction, @firstladyship wrote, “Dumping your indigenous National Anthem for a colonial hymn in austerity time, is all the proof you need. Old men were feeling nostalgic; they were craving for the good ol’ days.
“So they decided it was okay to force a colonial song down your throats. There’s little hint of austerity in those in charge of Nigeria. But how did we even get here? This is by far the sickest Executive + National Assembly since 1960. And I’ve put it mildly.”
On Facebook, Ibitola Olaniyi wrote, “All over the world people and countries are moving forward but APC and Tinubu government are drawn backwards, it’s a thing of shame. All of them should go back to secondary school if that’s what they want. When you put old cargoes on board what do you expect?”
Mathew Dubem opined, “This is preposterous. I wish they used to handle all bills and national issues the way they did this national anthem, Nigeria would have been better by now. D big question is, what’s the benefit of reverting to this old national anthem.”
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