The House of Representatives has passed a bill to revert to the old Nigerian national anthem ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’.
The bill which was sponsored by the House Leader, Mr. Julius Ihonvbere, swiftly passed through the first and second reading. It was onsidered and approved at the Committee of the Whole and passed for third reading at plenary within one hour of its introduction on the floor of the House.
The legislation is titled, “Bill For An Act to Provide for the National Anthem of Nigeria, and for Matters Related Thereto.”
It stipulates that on the date of commencement of the Bill, the national anthem of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” which is prescribed in the schedule for the proposed legislation.
According to the bill, the national anthem of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a national symbol and sign of authority, and all persons, individuals or corporate entities, shall respect the national anthem and preserve the dignity of the national anthem.
The proposed legislation provides that the national anthem shall be performed and sung on occasions such as the “opening and closing ceremonies of the Federal Executive Council, and State Executives Council meetings, opening and closing of sittings of Legislative Houses in Nigeria and Constitutional oath-swearing ceremonies.
“Major celebrations, major award ceremonies, major commemorative ceremonies, national memorial ceremonies and the likes, which are organised by MDAs, major diplomatic activities, major sporting events, other occasions as may from time to time be determined by the minister responsible for education with the consent of the President.”
It stated that the performance and singing of the national anthem shall follow the lyrics prescribed by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
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The new law prescribes that when the national anthem is performed and sung “-(a) those present shall stand and deport respectfully, and
(b) at flag-raising ceremonies, those present shall face the flag, and uniformed military personnel, Police and other Security personnel are to give a hand salute and other persons are to look on in respect.
“The Ministry responsible for information shall organize the review and approval of the standard for performance of the national anthem and a record of the official recording of the national anthem to be played. The standard and official recorded versions of the national anthem shall be published on the Federal Government of Nigeria’s website.
“Primary and Secondary schools shall make the lyrics of the national anthem part of the civic education and organise pupils and students to learn the national anthem. The second stanza of the former national anthem shall be the national prayer,” the bill reads further.
Debating the bill, Mr. Ihonbvere said Nigeria is at the stage of redesigning the way forward.
According to him, the old anthem, encompasses, contains, exudes the kind of energy, resourcefulness and a sense of vision that he believes is good for Nigeria.
“Mr Speaker the old anthem not only begins by telling us of the pride to serve our nation which is what is required right now when people are “Japa-ing” left, right and centre. But it goes on to assert the sovereignty of our motherland.
“Mr Speaker a time comes in the life of every organisation or a nation when the people must sit down, look at the past, the present, the future and have the courage, the sense of mission and the sense of nation to define, design the way forward. I believe that Nigeria is at that stage and momentum.
“Mr Speaker, this bill is straightforward. It is a bill that seeks to enjoin us to respect our anthem as a national symbol and sign of authority. One that will pull us together, will give us hope and courage, a sense of duty to the nation. That does not necessarily deny the reality and that is the main of contemporary societies. They deny reality, they pretend racism doesn’t exist, ethnicity doesn’t exist, poverty doesn’t exist. They rationalise this by looking at GMP, GDP and the reality stares people in the face and when you are faced with these realities then you can attack and deal with it frontally.
“So we should go back to our old national anthem which gives us that energy, that sense of commitment, sense of dedication and a desire to move Nigeria forward.
“I have taken time to look at the old anthem, the old and the new, and as a Nigerian who have been involved in the struggle to make Nigeria a better place, either as a student to the student union movement including the “Ali must go” movement or as a University teacher having been Secretary, vice chairman and chairman of ASUU or as a pro democracy activity who spent 12½ years in self exile”, Rep. Ihonbvere asserted.
Back to colonial rule
However the House Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda believes that reverting to the old anthem would mean going back to colonialism, which in the first place was the reason for the old national anthem written by the colonial masters.
“Whilst it is our function to make laws for the good governance of Nigeria, but for every law, there must be a clear purpose, a clear vision a clear spirit behind the law.
“Now if we ask ourselves one question, what is the essence of a national anthem? I will say, just like other national symbols, the national anthem represents the tradition, the history, the beliefs of a nation and its people.”
On his part, Mr. Ahmed Jaha, said that the new anthem does not reflect the current situation in Nigeria.
He said that the old anthem sounded more patriotic than the new one.
After the debate the Deputy Speaker put it to a vote and after which he ruled in favour of the Bill, passing it for a second reading. The House immediately considered the bill in the committee of the whole and returned it back to plenary for third reading.
Despite the rejection by majority of the lawmakers who voted against bill, the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Okezie Kalu, ruled in favour of its passage.
After it passage, some lawmakers staged a walkout as a sign of protest.
Emmanuel Ukoh
