Senate President Godwin Akpabio has said that Nigeria’s old national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” could have addressed issues of banditry and insecurity if it had been retained.
Recently, the National Assembly passed the National Anthem Bill 2024, aiming to revert to the old anthem, which was abolished in 1978.
Akpabio believes that reintroducing the old anthem would foster unity and love among Nigerians.
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During a visit to the Nigeria Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies in Abuja, Akpabio criticized those who view the reintroduced anthem as a remnant of colonialism.
According to Akpabio: “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.”
