President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, May 29, signed the National Anthem Bill 2024 into law.
The bill seeks to reinstate the old anthem, ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
A final assent to the passage of the bill will bring about a shift from the now-recognized, ‘Arise O Compatriots?
The bill swiftly passed through both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Like the House of Representatives, the Senate on Tuesday, May 28, passed for third reading the bill seeking to reintroduce the old national anthem.
The House of Representatives last week had swiftly approved the bill to reinstate the old national anthem.
The bill successfully navigated through all three readings at the lower chamber in a matter of minutes.
“Nigeria, We Hail Thee’ was adopted as Nigeria’s first national anthem on October 1, 1960.
The anthem’s lyrics were written by Lillian Jean Williams, a British expatriate who lived in Nigeria when it achieved independence. Frances Berda composed the music for ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee.
The upper legislative chamber passed the bill after considering a report by Tahir Monguno, chair of the judiciary committee.
The old national anthem is themed: ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’.
While presenting his report, Monguno said his committee disagreed with the position of Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation that the process to change the anthem should be subjected to a wider process.
“The proposed bill is important,” the Borno senator said.
Thereafter, the Senate considered the clauses of the bill and passed it.
Majority of the lawmakers in both chambers of the national assembly spoke in favour of the bill when they debated its general principles.
While debating the bill last week, Victor Umeh, senator representing Anambra Central, said an anthem is supposed to be motivational, adding that the current one is anything but emotive.
“The old one we are seeking to bring back is one that evokes emotions,” Umeh said.
“A national anthem is supposed to be motivational.
There is motivation in the old anthem. I think from what my colleagues have said, there is nothing in the current anthem that motivates our people. If we
bring it back, our children will be more committed to the ideals of nationhood.”
There have been mixed reactions since the national assembly began taking steps to reintroduce the old national anthem.