Nigerian activist and businesswoman, Aisha Yesufu boldly refused to stand for the newly adopted national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” at a recent event.
In a recently released video posted on her X handle, Yesufu was seen deliberately ignoring the new anthem.
While others stood in respect, she remained seated, flipping through a book and adjusting her glasses. This act of defiance comes after President Tinubu signed the new anthem into law on Wednesday, replacing the previous national anthem.
“Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” originally written by British expatriate, Lillian Jean Williams and composed by Frances Berda, was initially replaced by “Arise, O Compatriots.” Critics have long disapproved of the original anthem due to its foreign origins.
The legislative change to reinstate the old anthem was led by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) and garnered strong support from lawmakers.
Proponents of the bill argued that the original anthem symbolizes unity, peace, and prosperity more effectively than its successor, which they claim was a product of a military regime and lacked resonance with national values and norms.
Yesufu captioned her video with the hashtag #NotMyNationalAnthem, sparking a range of comments from social media users.
Watch the video below:
https://x.com/AishaYesufu/status/1796619141752730056
Reacting to the video, One @vincentchidi6 wrote: “Very boring colonial masters song.”
@AsefoneIgho wrote: “Confirm.. it’s just a disgrace.. when other countries are solving real problems.. Nigeria is solving national anthem problems… Is Nigeria not a failure and most especially we as a people have failed.. we can completely snub this foolishness by ignoring the useless anthem.”
@iconicsteve01 wrote: “This is a disrespect to the country though. Sorry to say.”
@thebeeperfumery wrote: “Chapter 2. Section 24: Duties Of The Citizen of the Nigerian Constitution provides that every citizen regardless of political power/financial status respect, obey, & abide the national anthem of the federation. Failure leads to criminal charges, civil penalties, & govt response.”
