Change in national anthem: What are Nigerians saying?

Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, has switched its national anthem to the one inherited during independence. President Tinubu Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the bill for the change on Wednesday in a move that has been criticised and praised at the same time.

This signalled the change after lawmakers passed it at the national assembly.

“Nigeria, We Hail Thee” will now be used instead of “Arise O’ Compatriots”.

The bill introduced last Thursday received an accelerated adoption without any extensive legislative debate or consultation with civil society organisations.

The independence anthem was replaced in 1978 by Olusegun Obasanjo, a military head of state at the time, without providing an official reason.

Reports indicated that it was withdrawn due to its British colonial background.

The move has since generated reactions as some labeled it a mere distraction from an unabated economic crisis.

Nigeria’s economy has deteriorated during Tinubu’s first year in power, which he commemorated on Wednesday by addressing parliament, with inflation reaching a 28-year high of 33.20%.

Groups including the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, have urged the president to review his economic policies, noting that they have affected Nigerians hard.

The group stressed that the economy has experienced severe turbulence in the one-year administration of President Bola Tinubu, worsening the previous administration’s economic legacy.

Sylvanus Sylvanus Sylvanus on Facebook argued that the anthem might suffer the same faith as the current power tussle in Kano, northern Nigeria, where two Emirs have emerged in recent times. He said: “Another president will come and return to the previous anthem like Kano Emirates tussle.”

Kanu Harbor said “Is that the economic problem facing Nigeria. It is (sic)quite unfortunate. Our leaders are not (sic) connected with us.”

Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, earlier on Wednesday, vowed not to revert to the old anthem.

Others questioned how the change in the national anthem would translate to better living conditions among the citizens.

Despite the criticism, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, backed the return to the old national anthem.

He said, “I, as a humble and patriotic pan-Nigerian, I have always looked at these issues from the Nigerian perspective – how we can make our country better than it is now.

“Which was why Mr President, sir, as far back as, Wednesday, July 2, 2014 – 10 years ago – at the plenary session of the National Conference, I moved the motion for the change of our national anthem back to the one of 1960, on our independence.

“That motion was hotly debated by the 492 delegates at the national confab drawn from every spectrum of the Nigerian society and it was carried.

“And indeed nostalgically, the whole plenary session stood up and sang the old national anthem.”

“So, bringing it back is well overdue. It has better lyrics in context and content – like the Senate President said. It is better than the other one,” he added.