The Senate has approved the National Anthem Bill 2024. This bill seeks to resurrect the former Anthem “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
The bill quickly passed both its first and second readings and is currently awaiting President Bola Tinubu’s assent to become law.
The Senate’s approval comes after the House of Representatives passed the bill on Thursday.
The House of Representatives approved the bill to reinstate the former national anthem for a second time on Thursday.
The proponent of the proposed law, Julius Ihonvbere, led the debate on the bill’s broad principles, focusing on the importance of patriotism and nationalism.
In his submission, Chinda, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, observed that the old national anthem was a colonial history and should not be recognised in a post-independent Nigeria.
Mr. Ahmad Satomi, who represents the Jere Federal Constituency in Borno State, endorsed his argument.
Another Borno lawmaker, Ahmed Jaha, supported the bill, claiming that the new anthem’s meaning is purely linguistic and has no bearing on Nigeria.
