- Why I Signed Bill To Revert To Old National Anthem- Tinubu
- Akpabio, Others Hail Development, Ezekwesili, Omokri Kick As #NotMyNationalAnthem Trends
- We Should Also Change Nigeria’s Name, Flag- Ozekhome
The decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sign the bill seeking to revert to the old national anthem has been greeted with knocks and kudos from Nigerians.
The Matrix reports that on the occasion of the president’s one year anniversary on Wednesday morning, Tinubu signed the bill reintroducing the old national anthem which is themed ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’.
The one which the country has used since 1978 is titled ‘Arise, O Compatriots’.
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Julius Ihonvbere, the lawmaker who sponsored the bill, anchored his argument on the need for patriotism and nationalism among citizens.
The passage of the bill had enjoyed speedy passage from both the House of Reps and Senate sparking controversies and debate on the quick passage of the law.
Some citizens have however expressed their disapproval of the development.
However, after signing the bill, Tinubu said the reintroduced anthem reflects the country’s diversity and unity.
“And that part is the critical element of our new national anthem…it is all about service, you are proud to serve your motherland,” Tinubu said.
Reacting to the development, Senate President Godswill Akpabio says the most profound act of President Bola Tinubu’s administration is taking the country back to the old national anthem.
Speaking during a joint session of the national assembly, Akpabio said Nigerians would no longer refer to themselves as “mere compatriots”, but as brothers.
“The senators and members have asked me to congratulate you on your first anniversary since your swearing-in to office,” Akpabio told the president who was at the National Assembly Complex.
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“Me and my brother Tajudeen Abbas, the speaker, have explained the purpose of this visit, and this is what we call ‘Waka pass’ in Nollywood.
“Out of honour and respect for the national assembly, you said you must pass through the national assembly on your first anniversary in office.
“Of all the significant things you have done, the most profound is to take us back to our genealogy — the genealogy of our birth — that though we may belong to different tribes, though we may have different tongues, in brotherhood we stand.
“Henceforth, we won’t refer to ourselves as mere compatriots, we will refer to ourselves as brothers, and as we go into battle in the field of sports or politics, in economic endeavours, we must hail Nigeria.”
The senate president said the national assembly is the best place to “commence this revolution of going back to our genealogy”.
Similarly, Human Rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof Mike Ozekhome described Nigeria’s return to the old national anthem as a welcome development.
According to him, the change of the national anthem was long overdue.
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Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Ozekhome said he was elated by Nigeria’s return to the old national anthem, 10 years after he moved a motion for it at the 2014 National Conference.
“Bringing the old National Anthem back is well overdue. It has better lyrics in content and context, like the Senate President said. It is better than the other one,” he said.
“The name Nigeria and the flag should also be changed.”
However, some Nigerians have kicked against it.
Obiageli Ezekwesili, former minister of education, disclosed that she will not recite the reintroduced old national anthem.
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Ezekwesili, who described the law as repugnant, said she would continue to sing the former 46-year-old anthem.
“Let it be known to all and sundry that I, Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili will whenever asked to sing the Nigerian National Anthem sing: 1. Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey,” the former minister said, referring to the first lines of the former anthem.
“This is my own National Anthem and let it be known that no one can suppress my right to dissent an obnoxious “law” that is repugnant to all that is of good conscience in Nigeria.
“Whatever else is #NotMyNationalAnthem.“
Similarly, Reno Omokri, a sociopolitical activist and former presidential aide, has described the return of the old national anthem as a “giant step backward.”
Omokri, in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday, condemned the move, stressing that returning the old National Anthem was one of the most unnecessary acts of governance in Nigeria in recent times.
Omokri said the National Anthem, which was used from independence in 1960 until 1978, was composed by foreigners, stressing that abandoning the indigenous anthem, Arise, O Compatriots’ National Anthem, is taking the country backwards.
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He wrote, “If I look sad in the attached photo, it is for a reason. My heart is very heavy about Nigeria right now because, in my opinion, we just took a giant step backwards in our national journey.
“One of the most unnecessary acts of governance in Nigeria in recent times is the law returning the old National Anthem. First of all, there was nothing wrong with the existing anthem. Secondly, with all of the multifaceted issues we face, it seems like we have a lack of priorities, when we major on such a settled issue as an anthem.
“To me, it looks like a step backwards to discard the ‘Arise, O Compatriots’ National Anthem written by a collective of young Nigerians, including John A. Ilechukwu, Eme Etim Akpan, B. A. Ogunnaike, Sota Omoigui and P. O. Aderibigbe in 1978, for ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’, written by an English woman, Lillian Jean Williams.
“Does it not sound preposterous that a foreigner should write our National Anthem? Are we that shallow and uninspired that we cannot come up with our own indigenous anthem? You can imagine the land of such music icons, like Fela Kuti, Osita Osadebe, Dan Maraya Jos, and contemporary stars, like Sade Adu, Burna Boy, Davido and Wizkid, importing music of national significance from Britain. As my Yoruba brethren will say, ‘O wrong now!’
“Already, the name Nigeria was given to us by another English lady, Flora Shaw. And she named us in 1897 in much the same way you name a dog. She did it tongue in cheek, for an article she wrote for The Times of London.
“We ought to have even changed that name to something indigenous, such as the Republic of Wazobia, as Ghana did in 1957 when she changed from Gold Coast to Ghana at Independence in 1957.
“We should also have reverted to the original name for Lagos, Eko. Lagos is an imposed Portuguese name. The annoying thing is that the Portuguese who renamed Eko as Lagos were just opportunistic slave traders who did not set up any viable administrative structure.
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“Instead of undertaking these name changes, we are rather doubling down on another colonial relic by discarding the anthem written by our own citizens for one written by a foreigner.
“I dare anyone reading this to name another country whose National Anthem was written by a foreigner. Even a Banana Republic would not do that!”.
