Akpabio Explains Why New National Anthem Was First Played in N’Assembly

Adedayo Akinwale, Sunday Aborisade and Juliet Akoje in Abuja

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has said the reason the newly adopted national anthem was played in the National Assembly for the first time yesterday was because the federal lawmakers were the true representatives of Nigerians.

He said the new national anthem was recited upon Tinubu’s arrival in the House of Representatives chamber for the joint session yesterday because they represent Nigerians.

Akpabio, who told his colleagues that Tinubu had assented to the bill, stated this while addressing his colleagues when Tinubu visited the legislature as part of the activities marking his administration’s first year in office.

The National Assembly had yesterday, approved the bill as part of the constitutional provisions to make it a law.

The bill seeks to replace the anthem, ‘Arise o compatriots’ with the old one, ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’, which was adopted as the country’s first national anthem on October 1, 1960.

The old  anthem was, however, dropped in 1978 by the Olusegun Obasanjo military regime.

The senate president urged Nigerians to familiarise themselves with the new national anthem.

“There is no better place to commence this revolution of going back to our genealogy than the National Assembly, made up of patriotic, not just representatives, but elected representatives of the people of Nigeria. The voice of the National Assembly is the voice of Nigeria. So, we welcome you.

“Of all the significant things you have done, I think one of the most profound, is to take us back to the genealogy, the genealogical of our birth, that though we may belong to different tribes, though we may have different tongues, in brotherhood we all stand.

“Henceforth we will not refer to  ourselves as mere compatriots, but we will refer to ourselves as brothers. And as we go forth in battle whether on the field of sports, in the field of politics, in economic endeavors, we must hail Nigeria. And so we are all saying today, Mr. President, Nigeria, We Hail  Thee!”

Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Hon Philip Agbese, also welcomed Nigeria’s return to its old national anthem as a pathway to its golden era. 

Speaking to journalists after the joint session, he praised Tinubu for his swift action on legislative matters, and also commended the speaker for his outstanding leadership and dedication to democratic governance.