Reintroduced national anthem could have prevented banditry – Akpabio

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has said the reintroduced national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”, could have prevented banditry and insecurity if the country had retained it.

Recall that the Senate and the House of Representatives passed the National Anthem Bill 2024 to revert to the old national anthem, “Nigeria, we hail thee”, which was abolished in 1978.

The National Assembly passed the bill to swap the national anthem from “Arise, O Compatriots” to “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”

The bill, which speedily passed first and second readings on the same day, was assented to by President Bola Tinubu, making it the new anthem of the country.

During a visit to the Nigeria Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies in Abuja on Tuesday, Akpabio said the reintroduced anthem would foster unity, patriotism and love among Nigerians.

Akpabio said those labelling the re-introduced anthem as an element of colonialism, don’t understand the country’s history and are ignorant of the law.

According to the Senate president, a panel made up of Nigerians was set up in 1959, which received inputs from all over the world regarding the anthem and approved the reintroduced anthem then.

He said: “The other impactful bill signed by the National Assembly is the reverting to our old national anthem.

“A lot of people are not aware that there was a panel set up and made up of Nigerians to receive input from all over the world in 1959.

“So when people are saying we’re bringing in colonial anthem, they need to look into the history of “Nigeria, we hail thee”.”

“If we had kept to that anthem, we probably would not have banditry today in Nigeria because if you take your neighbour as your brother, you will not want to kill him.”

Akpabio also revealed that more than 30,000 Nigerian students have been selected to benefit from the student loan scheme.

The Senate President said the Student Loan bill allows the children of the poor and underprivileged persons in the country to obtain higher education without the financial burden.

According to Akpbaio, the bill was one of the most important pieces of legislation passed by the tenth Assembly of the country.

He said: “One of the most important bills for the tenth Assembly was the bill sent to us by President Bola Tinubu. The Student Loan Bill enables vulnerable Nigerian students, the less privileged, to obtain higher education.

“And as I speak to you now, over 30,000 Nigerian students have already been selected to benefit from that scheme.

“That is one of the bills I will say appeal to me the most.”