Senate President Godswill Akpabio has said Nigeria would probably not have anything to do with banditry if the country had not changed its national anthem in 1978.
In 1978, the military government of General Olusegun Obasanjo dropped “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” written by Lillian Jean Williams in 1959 and composed by Frances Berda and adopted
“Arise O Compatriots” written by Pa Ben Odiase, which is now dropped by President Tinubu.
Speaking during a visit to the Nigerian Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies in Abuja, on Tuesday, Akpabio said passing the old anthem bill is one of the significant achievements of the National Assembly under his leadership.
“The other one on social impact is reverting to our old national anthem. A lot of people are not aware that there was a panel made up of Nigerians set up to receive input from all over the world in 1959.
“So, when people say we are bringing colonial anthem, please look into the history of the “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”.
“If we kept to that anthem, we probably would not have banditry today in Nigeria, because if you took your neighbour as your brother you would not want to kill your brother, if you took your neighbour as your brother, you would not want to into the farm and behead your brother.”
Watch the video below.
New National Anthem Will Build Patriotism, Resolve Insecurity – Akpabio#ChannelsTVNews pic.twitter.com/N3sTgiSCbE
— Channels Television (@channelstv) June 18, 2024
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