Nigeria’s Decision To Revert To Old National Anthem Met With Criticism
Richmond Setrana
Posted On May 30, 2024
Several Nigerians have voiced their anger following the scraping of their current national anthem for an older version.
On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu signed the bill into law that would bring back Nigeria’s former national anthem, which had been abandoned by a military regime in 1978.
The newly re-adopted anthem, which begins “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” was first introduced in 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain. It was written by Lillian Jean Williams and composed by Frances Berda.
President Tinubu claimed that the anthem represented Nigeria’s diversity during his speech on his first anniversary in office.
In less than a week, the federal lawmakers presented and approved the bill—a remarkably quick procedure for an important legislation that often takes weeks or months to review.
Nigerians react to news of the anthem change
Many Nigerians have questioned the President’s priorities in light of the rising standard of living. Nigeria’s economy has plunged during Tinubu’s first year in office, with inflation reaching a 28-year high of 33.2%.
Online, some Nigerians responded by claiming that the nation’s most urgent issues were foreign exchange crises, rising inflation, and insecurity.
Tales Of Africa samples some comments from X (formerly Twitter) below.
“How ironic:
– Asking for an Indigenous Constitution, and yet
– Endorsing a National Anthem that isn’t indigenous.
God help our motherland and its people 😂”
Some support the new anthem
Supporters of the newly adopted anthem contended that it was inappropriate for the nation to sing an anthem composed by the military.
“Anthems are ideological recitations that help the people to be more focused. It was a very sad development for the military to have changed the anthem”, the public affairs expert Frank Tietie explained.
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