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Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili has rejected the reintroduced national anthem, saying she’ll never sing it.
Shortly after President Bola Tinubu approved the National Anthem Bill 2024, reinstating the old national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” Ezekwesili took to Twitter now X to kick against the reintroduction of the anthem.
She said the abandoned anthem, “Arise, O compatriots” remains her national anthem.
The ex-minister also berated the Federal Government for prioritising anthem change over other pressing issues facing the country.
In another tweet, she described the development as “absolutely incredulous,” as she wondered how the government found the old national anthem admirable despite the use of certain words in its lyrics.
She said she would continue to sing the discarded anthem anytime there's a need to sing the national anthem anywhere.
She tweeted, “Absolutely incredulous! “Native Land.” “Tribes.” In a 21st Century Nigeria, the country’s political class found a colonial National Anthem that has pejorative words like “Native Land” and “Tribes” to be admirable enough to foist on our Citizens without their consent. It is inevitable that there will be an ideological War between the Political Class and the Citizens of Nigeria. It is only but a matter of “When?”
The development has also sparked reactions from Nigerians as many described it as a waste of time and misplaced priorities.