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Nigeria adopted a new national anthem on Wednesday after lawmakers passed a law that replaced the current one with a version dropped nearly a half-century ago, sparking widespread criticism about how the law was hastily passed without much public input.
President Bola Tinubu’s assent to the law comes a day after
it was approved by both chambers of Nigeria’s National Assembly, which is
dominated by the governing party. The federal lawmakers introduced and passed
the bill in less than a week, an unusually fast process for important bills
that usually take weeks or months to be considered.
The “Arise, O Compatriots” anthem being replaced had been in
use since 1978, when it was introduced by the military government. The anthem
was composed at a time when the country was reeling from a deadly civil war and
calls on Nigerians to “serve our fatherland with love and strength” and not to
let “the labor of our heroes past (to be) in vain.”
The new version that takes immediate effect was first
introduced in 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain before it was
dropped by the military. Titled “Nigeria We Hail Thee,” it was written by
Lillian Jean Williams, a British expatriate who was living in Nigeria at the
time.
The new anthem was played publicly for the first time at a
legislative session attended by Tinubu, who marked his one year in office as
president on Wednesday.
Many Nigerians, however, took to social media to say they
won’t be singing the new national anthem, among them Oby Ezekwesili, a former
education minister and presidential aspirant who said that the new law shows
that the country’s political class doesn’t care about the public interest.
“In a 21st Century Nigeria, the country’s
political class found a colonial National Anthem that has pejorative words like
“Native Land” and “Tribes” to be admirable enough to foist on our Citizens
without their consent,” Ezekwesili posted on X.
Supporters of the new anthem, however, argued it was wrong
for the country to have adopted an anthem introduced 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,” public affairs analyst Frank Tietie said.
X user @Gospel_rxx posted: “A new national anthem is the
priority for Tinubu & Co at a time like this, When our people can’t eat,
insecurity is rife & life is hell? What a sordid joke!!. Lets see how they
implement it…”
Another X user Fola Folayan said it was shameful that
parliament had rushed through the bill.
“Changing the Nigerian national anthem written by a
Nigerian, to the song written by colonizers is a stupid decision and it’s
shameful that nobody in the National Assembly thought to stand against it.”
Former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad had an interesting
take as Nigerians continue to debate the issue on social media.
“After the change of our national anthem, some people are
now calling for the name Nigeria and the national flag to be changed as well.
What do you think? Should we keep the name Nigeria?”
But Tahir Mongunu, chairman of the parliamentary committee
which pushed the bill through, dismissed the widespread criticism, saying it
was “apt, timely and important”.
“It will undoubtedly inspire a zeal for patriotism and
cooperation. It will promote cultural heritage. Changing the national anthem
will chart a path to greater unity,” Tahir said.
And Kano resident Habu Shamsu agrees, telling the BBC: “I
think it more encompassing and I like the way it flows.”