Nigerians perplexed by abrupt change of national anthem

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Nigeria’s president on Wednesday signed into law a bill to reintroduce a national anthem last sung almost five decades ago after a speedy process that has raised concerns over the compliant nature of the country’s parliament.

The lower house of parliament began debate on changing the anthem last week and approved it on the same day, then the upper house approved the switch on Tuesday. President Bola Tinubu, who marked his first year in office on Wednesday, assented to the bill hours later, said a presidential spokesman.

Both houses of parliament are dominated by senators and MPs from the president’s ruling All Progressives Congress party. Analysts said the speed of the change was unusual, and stood out at a time when Nigeria was experiencing its worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

“This shows that government can clearly work when spurred to do so,” said political analyst Afolabi Adekaiyaoja. “But the speed of this amendment and change shows a lack of priorities.

“The lack of public engagement also doesn’t show a legislature able to provide necessary checks on the executive — which doesn’t encourage citizens [that there is] effective accountability.”

The change was met with widespread bemusement. Oluseun Onigbinde, chief executive of BudgIT, a Nigerian budget watchdog, wrote on social media platform X that it was done “without any form of consultation or leaning into popular demand”.

The new anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”, was first introduced in 1960 as the country became independent after decades of British colonial rule.

The anthem’s lyrics and music were written by two British women living in Nigeria at the time, earning the song criticism from some Nigerians who argued the national anthem should be written by citizens, according to a research paper published by the peer-reviewed Africa Today journal.

The anthem was jettisoned in 1978 in favour of “Arise, O Compatriots”, a poem composed by five Nigerians and set to music by Ben Odiase, a police officer, as the divided country sought to build a sense of unity after a ruinous civil war that ended eight years earlier.

Opeyemi Bamidele, a senator and ally of the president, said the old anthem was “motivational” and would encourage young Nigerians to be more “committed to the ideals of nationhood”.

Kingsley Chinda, an opposition lawmaker, said changing the anthem was unnecessary. “What value will it add to us as a nation?” he asked.

There are concerns that a pliant parliament could pass much weightier legislation without adequate scrutiny.

Joachim MacEbong, a governance analyst at data firm Stears, said the rapid passing of the bill showed that parliament was “beholden” to the executive branch and a continuation of an “accelerated subservience to the whims of the executive”. He added: “This is a trend that will continue for the next three years.”

Nigeria’s attorney-general, Lateef Fagbemi, told a senate committee on Monday that the process of changing a national symbol should be “subjected to a wider process of citizen participation”. The outcome of such a consultative process would be a “true reflection of the wishes of the generality or majority of Nigerians”, he said.

At a parliamentary session on Wednesday marking 25 years of unbroken democratic rule, a band led lawmakers in a rendition of the newly adopted song.