By Michael Agbaji
Senator Enyi H. Abaribe, representing Abia South Senatorial District, has said that reverting to the old national anthem is not a priority now at a time when the country is grappling with biting inflation, crippling unemployment and widespread insecurity.
Abaribe who stated this in a Memo to the Committee made available to journalists on Monday, asked the people of Abia South Senatorial District to reject the bill to revert back to the old anthem.
He said the reasons given for such unseemly haste to go back to the colonial era anthem ark is rather nebulous and mostly self-serving.
Senator Abaribe stated that reverting to an anthem that harks back to our troubled past as a nation does not enhance unity, saying it rather reminds us all of nomenclatures such as ‘Tribes, Tongues’, Natives’ which divides us as a nation and led to the unfortunate civil war.
According to him, “The present anthem has a second stanza that is used as our National Prayer. Thus, going back to the old anthem will make the nation to be put even further apart as it will mean we will not have a National Prayer.
The Senator noted that the present National Anthem was accompanied by a “PLEDGE” which all Nigerians and patriots recite at official functions, warning that reverting back to the old anthem would mean abrogation of the pledge since they go together.
He said the peoples of his District are desirous of policies and plans to reduce the pump price of petrol from the present 1.000 naira per litre in Aba, the 224 naira per kWh of electricity, the more than 100% increase in food prices than going back to an anthem written by a colonial citizen of Britain and bequeathed to Nigerians at independence in 1960.
“We supported the efforts of the Federal Government under President Bola A. Tinubu GCFR to ameliorate the difficulties that Nigerians face today of biting Inflation, crippling unemployment and widespread insecurity, we do not feel that it is a priority to embark on a homegrown National Anthem 46 years after its adoption by Nigerians.
“Therefore, the people of Abia South Senatorial District in their entirety reject the bill to revert back to the old anthem”, he said.
Recall that a bill seeking to revert to the old Nigerian National Anthem on Thursday passed the second reading at the Senate.
The senate president, Godswill Akpabio thereafter referred the bill to the Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters and Internal Affairs for further legislative action and report back as soon as possible.
