The House of Representatives has passed a bill to reinstate the old national anthem, "Nigeria We Hail Thee", despite significant opposition from some lawmakers. The bill, sponsored by Majority Leader Julius Ihonvbere, was swiftly debated and pushed through both its second and third readings.
Mr. Ihonvbere, leading the debate, argued that the content of the old anthem is superior to the current one. However, Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda strongly opposed the bill, asserting that the anthem should not be a priority for Nigerians. Chinda emphasized that the old anthem was composed by colonialists and adopting it would be a step backward.
"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 move us away from colonialism. The old anthem was composed by foreigners," Chinda argued.
During the session, Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu presided over
the vote. Despite the "nay" voices appearing louder, Kalu called the
vote in favor of the "ayes," prompting complaints from lawmakers.
Nonetheless, the Deputy Speaker upheld his ruling and rushed the motion through
amid ongoing opposition.
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