.As Senate passes bill for 2nd reading
Members of the House of Representatives have passed a bill to revert to the old national anthem.
The bill, sponsored by the Majority Leader of the House, Julius Ihonvbere, was taken through the first, second, and third reading, yesterday, amid opposition from some lawmakers.
The lyrics of the old National Anthem was written by Lillian Jean Williams, composed by Frances Berda, and sung between 1960 and 1978.
The current national anthem was adopted in 1978 during the military regime of Olusegun Obasanjo.
It was written by John Ikechukwu, Eme Etim Akpan, Babatunde Ogunnaike, Sotu Omoigui and P. O. Aderogbu, five winners of a competition, and composed by Benedict Odiase.
The Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, however, opposed the bill, saying the old anthem had a colonial tag, which was the reason for the new anthem.
He noted that the old anthem was authored and composed by Britons and questioned…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
