Critics raise concerns as Nigeria switches  national anthem 

Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, has switched its national anthem to the one inherited during independence. The bill for the change was signed by President Tinubu on Wednesday. The move has been met with criticism, with critics calling it a distraction from the raging economic hardship facing the citizens…

Nigeria has switched its national anthem back to the one composed by a British expatriate and adopted at independence.

President Bola Tinubu signed the bill, signaling the change after it was passed by lawmakers at the national assembly.

“Nigeria We Hail Thee” will now be used instead of “Arise O’ Compatriots”.

The bill introduced last Thursday received an accelerated adoption without any extensive legislative debate or consultation with civil society organisations.

The independence anthem was replaced in 1978 by Olusegun Obasanjo, a military head of state at the time, without providing an official reason.

Reports indicated that it was withdrawn due to its British colonial background.

The move has since generated reactions as some labeled it a mere distraction from an unabated economic crisis.

Nigeria’s economy has deteriorated during Tinubu’s first year in power, which he commemorated on Wednesday by addressing parliament, with inflation reaching a 28-year high of 33.20%.

Groups including the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, have urged the president to review his economic policies, noting that they have affected Nigerians in a hard way.

The group stressed that the economy has experienced severe turbulence in the one-year administration of President Bola Tinubu, worsening the previous administration’s economic legacy.