ABUJA, Nigeria — President Bola Tinubu has announced that reinstating Nigeria’s original national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” was a top priority for his administration.
This declaration was made during a meeting with the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday, May 30, 2024.
“Let me allude to something that happened yesterday. The change of national anthem, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’. Some people say, okay… say what? Is that your priority? It’s my priority. I agree with the National Assembly. If they make law, I’ve got to obey that law, or we disagree openly and close the chapter,” said Tinubu.
The president emphasised the importance of Nigeria’s diversity and the need to celebrate it rather than view it as a burden.
He reflected on the origins of the country’s name and the unity among its people.
“But the question of diversity. Who gave us the name Nigeria? Is it not Britain? Or somewhere? Have we changed our name? We are Nigerians,” the Nigerian president said.
“Our passport shows that. As long as we are Nigerians and one family, we remain and protect our diversity and love one another as brothers and sisters.
“It is God Almighty that puts you in that particular place and makes you a member of that family. You have no control over it.
“When I came begging for votes I didn’t say vote for me as a Yoruba man, I said vote for me as Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he stated.
This move to bring back the old national anthem has been a longstanding aspiration of Tinubu. In 2022, he had expressed his desire to reinstate the first national anthem, stating, “if I have my way”.
On May 29, President Tinubu enacted legislation officially reinstating the original national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” marking a significant cultural shift for the nation.
