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.
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May be NNAS and Tinubu could also consider restructuring Nigeria to the old constitution and regional government system since they have decided to take Nigeria backward.