Nigeria adopted a new national anthem on Wednesday after lawmakers passed a law replacing the current one with a version that was abandoned nearly half a century ago, sparking widespread criticism that the law was passed hastily with little public consultation.
President Bola Tinubu’s assent to the law came a day after it was approved by both houses of Nigeria’s parliament, which are dominated by his ruling party. Lawmakers introduced and passed the bill in less than a week, unusually fast for a major bill that typically takes weeks or months to consider.
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The new national anthem, “Rise Up, My Countrymen,” has been in use since 1978, when it was introduced by military rule. Composed at a time when the country was in the throes of a deadly civil war, the anthem calls on Nigerians to “serve their country with love and strength” and “not to let the labor of our heroes of the past go in vain.”
Nigeria’s new President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, inspects a guard of honor after taking the oath of office during a ceremony in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, May 29, 2023. Nigeria adopted a new national anthem on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, after lawmakers passed a law replacing the current anthem with a version that was abandoned nearly 50 years ago, sparking widespread criticism that the law was passed hastily with little public input. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga)
The new version, which takes immediate effect, was first introduced in 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain but was later phased out by the military. The lyrics, titled “Long Live Nigeria”, were written by Lillian Jean Williams, a British expatriate living in Nigeria at the time.
The new national anthem was played in public for the first time at a legislative session attended by Tinubu as he marked one year in office on Wednesday.
But many Nigerians took to social media to say they would not sing the new anthem, including former education minister and presidential candidate Oby Ezekwesili, who said the new law showed the country’s politicians did not care about the public interest.
“In 21st century Nigeria, the country’s politicians are praising a colonial-era national anthem that contains derogatory terms like ‘homeland’ and ‘tribe’ and imposing it on the people without their consent,” Ezekwesili wrote on X.
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But supporters of the new anthem argued that it was a mistake for the country to adopt an anthem introduced by the military.
“The national anthem is an ideological recitation that keeps people focused. It’s a very unfortunate development that the military has changed the anthem,” said public policy analyst Frank Tieti.
