Godswill Akpabio, President of the Senate has posited that Nigeria wouldn’t have experienced insecurity if the national anthem was not changed in 1978.
He disclosed this during his visit to the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies, last Friday in Abuja.
In May, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the bill reintroducing the old national anthem which is themed ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’.
The one which the country has used since 1978 is titled ‘Arise, O Compatriots.’
While highlighting the recent national anthem bill as one of the most appealing pieces of legislation, he also mentioned the student loan bill as a significant bill passed by the National Assembly.
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His words: “The bill that was sent to us by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on student’s loans and scholarship programs will enable all Nigerian students, the less privileged to obtain higher education. As I speak, over N30,000 have been selected to benefit from that bill. That is one of the bills that appeals to me the most.
“The other one of social impact, is reverting to our old national anthem. A lot of people are not aware that there was a panel set up – made up of Nigerians to recieve input from all over the world in 1959.
“When the people say we are bringing in colonial anthem, we look into the history of the ‘Nigeria we hail thee.’ If we had kept to that national anthem, we probably will not have banditry in Nigeria. If you take your neighbour as your brother, you wouldn’t want to kill your brother or go into the farm to behead your brother.”
Before the passage of the bill and the presidential assent, there were calls for broader consultation.
Some citizens are still expressing their disapproval of the development.
