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The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, suggested that banditry might not be an issue today if Nigeria had not altered its national anthem in 1978.
He made this remark on Monday, June 18, 2024 during a visit to the Nigerian Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies in Abuja.
Akpabio emphasised that the bill to revert the national anthem is significant for the 10th Assembly alongside the student loan bill.
He said, “The bill that was sent to us by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on student loan and scholarship programme to enable Nigerian vulnerable students the privilege to obtain higher education and as I speak to you now, over 30,000 Nigerian students have been selected to benefit from that scheme.
“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 receive … from all over the world in 1959. So when people are saying we are bringing you colonial anthem, please look into the history of the ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee.’
“If we kept to that national anthem, we probably would not have banditry today in Nigeria because if you take your neighbour as your brother, you would not want to kill your brother.”
Criticism of reintroduced national anthem
The National Assembly’s decision to pass the bill and the president’s approval of the new national anthem triggered criticism from Nigerians.
Many described it as a waste of time and misplaced priorities amidst the incessant insecurity and economic hardship.
Prominent personalities, such as Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Senator Shehu Sani, Oby Ezekwesili, Aisha Yesufu, and others, have criticised the reintroduction of the old national anthem.