Abuja, 08 June, 2024 / 9:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Nigeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja has criticized the speedy enforcement of a bill changing the national anthem of the West African country from the current one to the old one used during the country’s independence.
On May 29, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reportedly signed a bill switching back to the national anthem composed by a British expatriate and adopted at independence. “We Hail Thee” will now be used instead of “Arise O' Compatriots”.
In a June 2 interview with ACI Africa, Archbishop Kaigama said there are more priorities to attend to such as the high level of poverty, hunger, and insecurity than spending energy and resources on changing the nation’s anthem.
“I admire the desire to change, and the wording of the old national anthem is very good. There is no doubt about it. But that is not a priority that they have to hastily pass it through the national assembly, and then the President has to ascend to it,” the Nigerian Catholic Archbishop said.
Archbishop Kaigama said the switch to the old national anthem was “not a matter of importance or top importance,” adding, “There are other issues that the people would have been happier to see the president or the national assembly address.”
