'Nigeria We Hail Thee': Reps Pass Bill to Revert to Old National Anthem

Olufemi Orunsola

The House of Representatives has passed a bill to adopt the country's old National Anthem amidst a rowdy session by some members of the chamber opposed to the bill.

The bill, sponsored by the Majority Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, was debated for a second reading and rushed through a third reading amid opposition from some lawmakers.

Mr Ihonvbere who led the debate on the bill said the content of the old anthem is far better than the current one.

Speaking against the bill, the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda said the anthem should not be a thing of priority to Nigerians.

While opposing the bill, Mr Chinda said the old anthem was composed by colonialists and adopting it would mean going back.

“For every law, there must be a spirit to it. If we are asked what is the essence of this law, I would talk about history.

“What does this old national anthem represent? This history dates back to colonialism. We dropped it because we wanted an Anthem to remove us from colonialism. The old anthem was composed by foreigners,” he said.

After the debate, the bill was put to vote by Deputy Speaker, Ben Kalu who presided over the session, however, the “nay” voices appeared louder, yet the presiding officer called the vote in favour of “ayes”.

This ruling generated complaints from lawmakers, however, the Deputy Speaker insisted on the ruling.

Open Television Naija gathered that the bill was hurriedly passed by the Deputy Speaker despite the opposition.

Open Television Naija recalls that the old anthem now proposed to replace current National anthem of Nigeria was used in Nigeria between 1960 and 1978 when it was replaced with the 'Arise o Compatriots' Anthem.

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Julius Ihonvbere, Old National Anthem