- Safiu Kehinde
The House Representatives has proposed bill of 10-year jail term or five million Naira fine of Nigerians not singing new national anthem.
According to reports, the bill was sponsored by the Lower Chamber’s Speaker, Tajudeen Abass, in Counter Subversion Bill 2024 to penalize citizens who refuse to sing the new and controversial anthem, ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’.
On account of the #EndBadGovernance Protest where Nigerian flags were destroyed, the bill all stipulated that anyone found guilty of destroying national symbols face a fine of N5 million, a 10-year prison sentence, or both.
Recall that the change Nigerian anthem had generated reactions from the Nigerian public, activists and other prominent figures who frowned at the change.
In the wake of the return to the old “Nigeria we Hail Thee”, activists and public figures like Aisha Yesufu and Obi Ezekwesili had expressed their displeasure with the change with the former, as seen in a viral video, disregarding the anthem at an event.