News

Reps Hurriedly Pass Bill To Revert To Old National Anthem ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’

Published

2 years ago

May 23, 2024

/home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/house-of-representatives-1.jpg&description=Reps Hurriedly Pass Bill To Revert To Old National Anthem ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">

/home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 72
https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/house-of-representatives-1.jpg&description=Reps Hurriedly Pass Bill To Revert To Old National Anthem ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">

ADVERTISEMENT

…as Minority Leader say old anthem will mean a return to colonialism

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives on Thursday at plenary hurriedly passed a bill to revert to the old national anthem ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’ and get rid of the present one, ‘Arise O’ Compatriots.

Naijablitznews.com reports that the New national anthem came into existence in 1978 while the old came into existence in 1960.

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.

The lawmakers thereafter staged a walkout as a sign of their grievances. Naijablitznews.com heard some say “enough is enough, we can’t continue like this”.

The bill which was sponsored by the House Leader, Rep. Julius Ihonvbere, swiftly passed through first, second reading, considered 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.”

The bill stipulated 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 to the proposed legislation.

According to the bill, the national anthem of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shal 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 provided that the national anthem shall be performed and sung on occasions such as: opening and closing ceremonies of Federal Executive Council, and State Executives Council meetings, opening and closing of sittings of Legislative Houses in Nigeria and Constitutional oath-swearing ceremonies.

Others are: “Major celebrations, major award ceremonies, major commemorative ceremonies, national memorial ceremonies and the like, 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 also stated that the performance and singing of the national anthem shall follow the lyrics prescribed by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“The new law prescribed 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 record 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, Rep. 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 believe 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 at our Anthem as a national symbol and sign if 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 that is when you are faced with the realities then you can attack and deal with it frontally.

“So it seeks to say that as a people as Nigerians fronti g a new renewed hope moving forward, tackling the rot decay, dislocation and distortion of the past. 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 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 twelve and a half years in self exile”, Rep. Ihonbvere asserted.

But the House Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda believes that reverting to the old Anthem would mean going g back to colonialism, which in the first place was the reason for the old national anthem that was written by the colonial masters.

He stated that whilst it is their function to make laws for the good governance of Nigeria but then for every law, there must be a clear purpose, a clear vision a clear spirit behind the law.

The Minority Leader said: “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 anthen represents the tradition, the history, the beliefs of a nation and its people. Hence it helps evoke feelings if patriotism amongst citizenry and reminds them of their nation’s glory, beauty and rich heritage.

“So the question I will want to ask is what does this old national anthem reminds us of? What is the history behind the old national anthem that our brother, Honourable professor is asking us to adopt?

“History dates back to colonialism and why did we go for a new national anthem? It is because we wanted to lose ourselves from that colonial tie and so the country set up a committee to look at the National anthen and a new national anthem amongst competitors which filed in their suggestions, five of them were picked and put together and that gave us the national anthem that we have today. Made by Nigerians, composed by Nigerians and proper Nigerian national anthem.

Chinda went back to history to educate the parliament on the history of the Old national anthem.

“Let me also remind us that the old national anthem was authority by Lilian Jean Williams and composed by Francis Banda bother of them Britton. And after independence we tried as much as possible to Nigerianise our actions.

“So sir, today we are taking ourselves back to that old National Anthem. Incidentally I will even ask again. Is this very important at the particular juncture in our national life? What value will it add to us as a nation? I think that these questions need to be answered. Nigerians looking up to us for more fundamental issues that will cause proper change.

“Like Prof took us to history lane that great men make history. What isbthe history that we are about to make? History that will change this country or history that will take us backwards. There are several questions that are left unanswered.

“So I will stand this morning or this afternoon as a Nigerian to say NO to this act. I stand to oppose it and I pray that we look atvit critically and urge the sponsor, the House Leader to withdraw this bill and perhaps take a second look at it and represent same if necessary” Rep Chinda stated.

Rep. Ahmed Satomi, who also spoke again the bill as he believes that at this time of our nation we should be talking Information Technology and not national anthem, as he said Nigerians are looking up to the parliament.

“Nigerians are looking up to us regarding this bill because many of us in our early 40s don’t know this national anthem. I don’t know how this bill on the national anthem will affect the common man. Let’s be realistic how this will help the government to stop hunger, banditry, or improve security. Let’s do what is beneficial to the common man and this Honourable chamber is the only for now standing forbthe common man of Nigeria.

“So Nigerians are looking up to us, I concur with the Minority Leader. Let’s look at something that will bring a development in the eyes of the international communities to Nigeria.

“People are discussing Nano Technology, Internet and we are still discussing national anthem”, Reps Satomi asserted.

But Rep. Ahmed Jaha is of the opinion that Nigerians are not happy with the happening and therefore there is need reverting to the old national anthem as the current anthem is not yielding positive results.

According to Jaha, you don’t need a soothsayer to tell you that people are not happy on their faces.

He said: “It has been accepted widely and scientifically proven that if you keep doing one thing without results, it is an indication of lunacy and it may not lead to success. We are all aware that the national anthem we have been singing is not what what we have been practicing as Nigerians.

We say arise, O compatriots! Are we patriots? Who are the compatriots? Do we normally place our national interests above our individual interests?

“Secondly, to serve our fatherland with love, strength and faith. None of these is happening. There is no love in the services that we have been providing because it is personal interest first before national interest . That is why people are even leaving the country to go and show love to other countries of the world. To show their strength, their intellectual capacity, educational pedigree. How many Nigerians have faith in the country? Most Nigerians have lost confidence, faith in the country.

“Thirdly, the labour of our heroes past shall not be in vain. Are they not in vain? My father is a retired Nigerian army officer. His pension has not been paid promptly. And you are here telling people that their own effort, sacrifices should be taken into cognizance . Just payment of pension, we have not been doing that.

“Section 5 of the Contributory Pension Act is clear. That there must be group insurance cover for each and every employee of Nigeria and it must three times the total annual emolument of that employee. How many civil servants benefit from this immediately their death or permanent disability?”, he stated.she

After the debate the Deputy Speaker put it to a vote and ruled in favour of the Bill, passing it for second reading and the House immediately considered the bill in the committee of the whole and returned back to plenary and the bill passed for third reading.

News

At Last, Kidnappers Reveal 4 Conditions To Release Abducted Oyo Pupils And Teachers

Published

7 minutes ago

June 7, 2026

Admin

ADVERTISEMENT

Armed men who kidnapped pupils and teachers from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State have listed some conditions before releasing victims.

The Genius Media Nigeria reports that the schools attacked are in Esinele, Yawota and Alawusa communities, where the gunmen struck on May 15 and took away students and teachers.

According to Punch, the gunmen have listed four main demands. They want the release of two detained terrorist leaders, payment of ransom, provision of two Hilux vehicles, and acceptance of Sharia-related law.

The two men they are demanding include Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar, and his deputy Abubakar Abba, also known as Isah Adam, Mahmud Al-Nigeri or Mallam Mamuda.

Both are linked to Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimeena Fii Bilaadis Sudan, also called Ansaru, a breakaway group from Boko Haram.

The group has been tied to several violent attacks in Nigeria, including the 2022 Kuje prison attack.

Security records show the suspects were arrested between May and July 2025 and are currently facing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Usman has already been convicted on a separate charge of illegal mining after admitting it was used to fund weapons for kidnappings and attacks.

He is still in custody of the Department of State Services while other charges are ongoing. His deputy has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts and remains on trial.

The kidnappers are also reportedly asking for about ₦1bn, which they want sent to an account in the Republic of Benin.

News

Group Urges NASS to Speedily Pass Child Online Safety Bill

Published

5 hours ago

June 6, 2026

Gloria Ikibah

ADVERTISEMENT

…say Nigerian children face growing threats of cyberbullying, grooming and oline exploitation

By Gloria Ikibah

Child rights advocates have called on the National Assembly to fast-track the passage of a bill aimed at protecting Nigerian children from online abuse, cyberbullying, exploitation and other digital threats.

The appeal was made during a stakeholders’ roundtable in Abuja on Friday, where campaigners, legal experts and education stakeholders expressed concern over the increasing dangers facing children in the digital space.

At the centre of the discussions was the proposed “Child Online Access Protection and Online Violence Against Nigerian Child Bill”, which seeks to criminalise various forms of online abuse targeting minors and establish stronger safeguards for children using the internet.

The proposed legislation also seeks to introduce a 0.02 per cent levy on the assessable profits of search engines, telecommunications service providers, artificial intelligence companies, gaming platforms, streaming services and social media application vendors operating in Nigeria to support implementation of the law.

The call comes against the backdrop of a 2018 UNICEF report which revealed that a new child goes online every half second globally. The report also highlighted the scale of the challenge in Nigeria, where about 90 per cent of children are exposed to online risks, including cyberbullying, inappropriate content and exploitation.

Speaking at the event, the Country Director of Lawyers Without Borders in Nigeria, Ms Angela Uzoma, said the proposed legislation will have a direct impact on the lives of millions of Nigerian children.

According to her, widespread access to digital devices has increased children’s exposure to online dangers, making legal protection more urgent than ever.

She said: “So every Nigerian, whether you are a biological parent or not, whether you are an aunt or an uncle, whether you are a child or an adult, you should be interested and should support this bill.

“When we talk about online harms that children are exposed to, it ranges from issues around cyber bullying, grooming, child exposure to sexualual violence, sexual abuse.

“We have children being groomed, we have children, being threatened online. We have children, we have predators, pretending to be children and targeting children.

“We have sextortion going on, children are being tricked into exposing intimate parts of their bodies, to adults, who are hiding and pretending to be children.

“So everyone in Nigeria should be interested in having joining their voices to call on the Nigerian Senate to pass this bill.”

Uzoma noted that nearly 90 per cent of Nigerian children now have access to digital devices either at home, in school or through friends, exposing them to a broad range of online threats and abuse.

Also speaking, Coordinator of the General Unit at the National Assembly, Ms Christiana Eguma, said the bill was designed to improve online safety for children in an increasingly digital world.

She observed that many children access the internet without adequate supervision, making them vulnerable to harmful content and online predators.

Eguma explained that the legislation would also place responsibility on digital platforms to proactively prevent abuse and harmful content targeting children.

“It puts accountability on the platform themselves so that they can take responsibility of putting down some of these negative things early enough.

“It seeks to ensure that from the parents to the school, to the children, everybody is responsible enough to protect children online.

“So the bill seeks to ensure children are protected from the adult, and from even their own peers that are bullies, and we are calling on the National Assembly to pass the bill so that the Nigerian children can be protected from all harm,” she said.

On his part, education advocate Mr Oluwasesan Ifegbesan stressed that safeguarding children online should be a collective responsibility.

He called on parents, educators and the wider public to remain vigilant and actively guide children on the safe use of the internet and social media platforms.

Stakeholders at the roundtable agreed that while technology offers significant opportunities for learning and development, stronger legal protections and greater public awareness are needed to shield children from growing online threats.

They expressed optimism that the proposed legislation, if passed, would strengthen Nigeria’s child protection framework and help create a safer digital environment for millions of young internet users across the country.

News

Breaking: Finally police rescue Adelabu’s sister, her twins

Published

6 hours ago

June 6, 2026

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

ADVERTISEMENT

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have rescued Olaide Busayo Adegoke John-Paul, the sister of a former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and her 12-year-old twin sons: Peter and Paul.

According to available information, they were rescued at about 7:30pm on Saturday in a heavy gun duel with their abductors.

Sources revealed that no fewer than two of the kidnappers were neutralised, while others escaped with gunshot wounds.

Recall that John-Paul and her twins were kidnapped on June 3, 2026 around 7:30am while she was driving them to school.

Details shortly…