The bill to adopt the old National Anthem was passed by the House of Representatives despite opposition from some lawmakers.
The Majority Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, sponsored the bill, which was debated for a second reading and quickly passed a third reading.
Mr. Ihonvbere argued that the content of the old anthem is superior to the current one.
However, the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, spoke against the bill, stating that the anthem should not be a priority for Nigerians.
He also pointed out that the old anthem was composed by colonialists, and adopting it would be a step backward.
“For every law, there must be a spirit to it. If we are asked what is the essence of this law, I would talk about history.
“What does this old national anthem represent? This history dates back to colonialism. We dropped it because we wanted an Anthem to remove us from colonialism. The old anthem was composed by foreigners,” he said.
During the vote on the bill, the “nay” voices seemed louder, but the Deputy Speaker, Ben Kalu, who presided over the session, called the vote in favor of the “ayes”.
This decision was met with complaints from lawmakers, but the Deputy Speaker stood by his ruling.
Despite the opposition, the bill was passed by the House of Representatives.
