Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Thursday joined party faithful in singing Nigeria’s former national anthem, ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee,’ at a town hall meeting in Lagos.
When the event anchor called for the current national anthem, Obi along with Funso Doherty, the party’s governorship candidate in Lagos State, and other attendees refused to stand for its recital.
The anchor then switched to the old anthem, which Obi and the supporters sang in unison.
As the anthem was sung, Obi stood facing the crowd with two fingers raised on each hand, a gesture linked to the NDC logo.
A video of the incident, which has since spread across social media, showed the party supporters singing the former national anthem with enthusiasm.
This comes amid controversy over President Bola Tinubu’s reintroduction of the old anthem. Access Services
On May 29, 2024, Tinubu signed the National Anthem Bill into law, bringing back ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’ as the country’s official anthem in place of ‘Arise, O Compatriots’.
The old anthem was first adopted on October 1, 1960, when Nigeria gained independence, and it stayed in use until 1978, when it was replaced.
Earlier, the town hall meeting had been disrupted when suspected thugs reportedly stormed the venue armed with cutlasses, cudgels, and stones, forcing attendees to flee for their safety.
In the 2023 presidential election, Obi, running as the Labour Party candidate, had previously won Lagos State with 582,354 votes, defeating Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, who polled 572,606 votes.
