Reno Omokri, a sociopolitical activist and former presidential aide, has described the return of the old national anthem as a “giant step backward.”
DAILY POST recalls that despite a rowdy section at the House of Representatives on May 23, the lower chamber passed a bill to adopt the old National Anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
Similarly, the Senate on Tuesday passed the same bill despite opposition from concerned citizens.
In the heat of the controversy surrounding the move, the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi on Monday urged the National Assembly to halt the bill, saying the law regarding the National Anthem should not be enacted through legislative debate alone.
However, President Tinubu on Wednesday signed the bill into law as announced by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Reacting, Omokri, in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday, condemned the move, stressing that returning the old National Anthem was one of the most unnecessary acts of governance in Nigeria in recent times.
Omokri said the National Anthem, which was used from independence in 1960 until 1978, was composed by foreigners, stressing that abandoning the indigenous anthem, Arise, O Compatriots’ National Anthem, is taking the country backwards.
He wrote, “If I look sad in the attached photo, it is for a reason. My heart is very heavy about Nigeria right now because, in my opinion, we just took a giant step backwards in our national journey.
“One of the most unnecessary acts of governance in Nigeria in recent times is the law returning the old National Anthem. First of all, there was nothing wrong with the existing anthem. Secondly, with all of the multifaceted issues we face, it seems like we have a lack of priorities, when we major on such a settled issue as an anthem.
“To me, it looks like a step backwards to discard the ‘Arise, O Compatriots’ National Anthem written by a collective of young Nigerians, including John A. Ilechukwu, Eme Etim Akpan, B. A. Ogunnaike, Sota Omoigui and P. O. Aderibigbe in 1978, for ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’, written by an English woman, Lillian Jean Williams.
“Does it not sound preposterous that a foreigner should write our National Anthem? Are we that shallow and uninspired that we cannot come up with our own indigenous anthem? You can imagine the land of such music icons, like Fela Kuti, Osita Osadebe, Dan Maraya Jos, and contemporary stars, like Sade Adu, Burna Boy, Davido and Wizkid, importing music of national significance from Britain. As my Yoruba brethren will say, ‘O wrong now!’
“Already, the name Nigeria was given to us by another English lady, Flora Shaw. And she named us in 1897 in much the same way you name a dog. She did it tongue in cheek, for an article she wrote for The Times of London.
“We ought to have even changed that name to something indigenous, such as the Republic of Wazobia, as Ghana did in 1957 when she changed from Gold Coast to Ghana at Independence in 1957.
“We should also have reverted to the original name for Lagos, Eko. Lagos is an imposed Portuguese name. The annoying thing is that the Portuguese who renamed Eko as Lagos were just opportunistic slave traders who did not set up any viable administrative structure.
“Instead of undertaking these name changes, we are rather doubling down on another colonial relic by discarding the anthem written by our own citizens for one written by a foreigner.
“I dare anyone reading this to name another country whose National Anthem was written by a foreigner. Even a Banana Republic would not do that!”.
‘It’s a giant step backward, my heart heavy’ – Omokri fumes over return of old national anthem
