By Akinwale Kasali

Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education under former President Olusegeun Obasanjo administration has lamented the reverting of Nigeria to the old National Anthem. She described it as obnoxious.

She said that the just signed Old Anthem Bill by President Bola Tinubu as the country’s new Anthem is suppressing  her right to dissent, as she  described the as an “obnoxious law repugnant to all who are of good conscience in Nigeria.”

Ezekwesili made this disclosure in a post on her X handle on Wednesday.

The former Minister said: “Let it be known to all and sundry that I, Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, will, whenever asked to sing the Nigerian National Anthem, sing:

“ 1. Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey

“To serve our fatherland

“With love and strength and faith.

The labour of our heroes past

“Shall never be in vain

“To serve with heart and might

“One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.”

She added, “2. Oh God of creation, direct our noble cause.

“ Guide our leader’s right

“Help our youth the truth to know

“ In love and honesty to grow

“And living just and true

“Great lofty heights attain

“To build a nation where peace and justice reign.”

It would be recalled that both arms of the National Assembly, (the Senate and the House of Representatives), had passed the National Anthem Bill 2024, seeking to reinstate the old anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.” It was immediately assented to by President Bola Tinubu as the New Anthem.

The Bill on the changing of the National Anthem to the Old One generated controversy on the floor of the House of Representatives, as the promoter of the Bill, Julius Ihonvbere, anchored his argument on the need for patriotism and nationalism.

The Senator Godswill Akpabio-led 10th Senate passed the bill after reviewing a report by Tahir Monguno, the Lawmaker representing Borno North Senatorial District and Chair of the Judiciary Committee.

By Akinwale Kasali

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has lashed out at former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, for “losing touch with reality.”

This is coming in the wake of the criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s one year in office by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Candidate at the 2023 Presidential Election. Atiku stated that the nation’s economic fortunes has worsened since President Tinubu assumed office on May 29th, 2023.

The APC leadership has, however, labeled Atiku as “a desperate politician suffering from primordial envy.”

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, knocked Atiku, saying he was too blinded by his ambition to appreciate the outstanding first-year achievements of the President.

Morka also disclosed that the former VP was not in a position to dismiss Tinubu’s ongoing policies as ‘trial and error.’

He said: “Atiku’s self-serving efforts to minimize the bold, genuine, and metamorphic policies and interventions of the present administration only smacks of primordial political envy and crass desperation for the power Nigerians have so wisely denied him. He lives in an alternate reality of prejudice and unpatriotic desire for Nigeria’s failure so he may scavenge his way to an even more elusive presidency.

“The President needs the support and encouragement of Nigerians, not the bile-filled pessimism of partisan Atikus. Atiku’s false alarm of an imminent food scarcity boldface ignores the widely acknowledged proactive measures already introduced by President Tinubu to guarantee food security in the country.

“ The former Vice President’s swipe on the administration’s national security management again betrays his lack of touch with the reality of our current situation. Not only did the administration revamp and reconfigure the country’s security apparatus, but it also created a Special Security Fund to boost its superiority and operational effectiveness against merchants of crime and insecurity.

“Yet, Atiku turns a blind eye to considerable improvement in our security, especially in the North East where Atiku hails from. The opposition’s efforts to burden the administration with ceaseless, contrived, unjustified, and diversionary reproval is grossly miscalculated and misleading.

“Tinubu remains unshakable in his commitment to building concrete blocks of progress and greatness for Nigeria. While Atiku and his band of mudslingers idle away, the President will continue, unstoppably, to deliver high-grade infrastructure not only in our nation’s capital, Abuja but all around the country.”

By Ayodele Oni

The Compatriots will no longer arise,  but we continue to hail Nigeria as our own dear native land with President Bola Tinubu signing into law the bill seeking to reintroduce the old national anthem into law.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced this at the joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Akpabio said the President signed the bill into law on Wednesday morning.

President Bola Tinubu, who later joined the joint session, confirmed ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’ as the “latest national anthem”.

Akpabio said the sitting was primarily to launch the new national anthem, explaining that the President would not be making a speech because he has to leave to launch the Abuja metro line.

The Senate and the House of Representatives had previously passed the legislation to swap the national anthem from “Arise, O Compatriots” to “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” at separate sittings.

Following the signing of the bill by the President to reintroduce the old national anthem, the joint sitting jettisoned what has been in existence since 1978, to adopt the former and newly signed national anthem ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’.

The old anthem, “Nigeria, we hail thee”, composed when Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1960, has replaced the “Arise, O Compatriots” anthem.

Nigerians have continued to express surprise with the speed with which the two houses of national assembly passed the bill into law and the signing into law within 24 hours of its passage.

They continue to ask questions about the impact of the old national anthem will bring to cushion the biting economic hardship in the country.

By Ayodele Oni

President Bola Tinubu confirmed Nigeria, we hail thee as the country’s “latest national anthem” when he joined a joint sitting of the National Assembly to mark the Silver Jubilee Of Nigeria’s fourth Republic.

The President, joined the joint session of the national Assembly to celebrate 25 years of the new democratic dispensation in the country which began in 1999 after a very long stretch of Military Rule.

Accompanied by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, top aides in the Presidency and Ministers, the President’s visit confirmed the earlier statement by one of, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, that Presideny Tinubu would be part of the celebration at the National Assembly.

Another Aide, the presidential Spokesman, Ajuri Ngalele, had countered Onanuga’s statement in a terse release dismissing the content and even the author. Ajuri had written that “In view of public commentary concerning the President delivering a speech before a Joint Sitting of the National Assembly tomorrow, May 29, 2024, it is important to state that this information is false and unauthorized as the Office of the President was not involved in the planning of the event.”

The two contradicting statements   have shown that there is power play at the seat of power especially among the various aides of the President.

Ngalele was first to be appointed as Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity immediately after Dele Alake, current minister of solid minerals vacated the seat. He became the Presidential spokesman, that always speaks the mind of his principal.

Onanuga came on board thereafter with same office designation, almost, as Ngalele, also dishing out reports from the seat of power. Both of them have been coming out with statements on the activities of the president until Tuesday’s contradictory statements, which portrayed a perceived ongoing personality clash between the presidential spokesmen.

There is no doubt about the credentials and professional experience of Ngalele and Onanuga as the duo had paid their price in the profession.

From all indications, the offices of the two presidential aides are located right inside the presidential villa, the seat of power. The itinerary of the president, as the practice, after it is vetted by the Chief of Staff is expected to be circulated to all those aides that are directly working with the president, including the two spokesmen.

Onanuga’s statement was first to be released before  Ngalele’s  which dismissed the later as “false and unauthorized.”

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio had confirmed that

the joint sitting was primarily to launch the new National Anthem, explaining that the President would not be making a speech because he has to leave to launch the Abuja metro line.

Said an observer: “Let’s even admit that the statement by Onanuga was not authorized or approved before it was released to the public as claimed by Ngalele, the tone with which Ngalele dismissed the whole thing sparks a cold personality clash between the duo. There are two sides to a coin and in this business of journalism, every word, the moment it is released to the public has connotative and denotative meanings.

“There is no way the President’s activities will not suffer for as long as the two media aides are working at cross purposes. The reason for their appointments has become meaningless and useless for the office of the number one citizen. They should, while trying to please their godfathers, not allow the intrigues and dirty politics affect their assignments.”

As an endorsement of the “new” National Anthem, it was sang before the President left the National Assembly.