House of Reps Pass Bill to return to old National Anthem

The House of Representatives has passed a bill proposing that the country return back to reciting the old National Anthem.

The bill sponsored by the Majority Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, was debated for a second reading on Thursday and rushed through a third reading amid opposition from some lawmakers.

Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, Ihonvbere, anchored his argument on the need for patriotism and nationalism.
“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 remove us from colonialism. The old anthem was composed by foreigners,” he said.

Following the debate, the bill was put to vote by Deputy Speaker, Ben Kalu who presided over the session, however, the “nay” voices appeared louder, yet the presiding officer called the vote in favour of “ayes”.

This ruling generated complaints from lawmakers, however, the Deputy Speaker insisted on the ruling.

Amid the opposition, the Deputy Speaker rushed the motion through.

The bill will now be sent to the Senate for concurrence before being sent to the president for assent.

“Nigeria, We Hail Thee” is the former national anthem of Nigeria, used from independence in 1960 until 1978.

Nigeria’s present anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots,” was adopted in 1978, replacing “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”