Obi leads NDC supporters in singing old national anthem in Lagos

Sekinat Osundiji Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Thursday joined party supporters in singing Nigeria’s former national anthem, ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’, at a town hall meeting in Lagos. Obi, alongside Funso Doherty, the party’s governorship candidate in Lagos State, and other attendees, declined to stand for the recital of the current national anthem when prompted by the event anchor.

The anchor subsequently switched to the old anthem, which Obi and the supporters sang together. During the recital, Obi faced the crowd with two fingers raised on both hands, forming a gesture associated with the NDC logo. A video of the incident, which has since circulated on social media, showed the party supporters enthusiastically singing the former national anthem.

The development comes amid controversy surrounding the reintroduction of the old anthem by President Bola Tinubu. On May 29, 2024, Tinubu signed the National Anthem Bill into law, restoring ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’ as the country’s official anthem, replacing ‘Arise, O Compatriots’. The old anthem was first adopted at Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960, and remained in use until 1978, when it was replaced.

Meanwhile, the town hall meeting was earlier disrupted when suspected thugs reportedly invaded the venue with cutlasses, cudgels and stones, forcing attendees to flee for safety. Obi previously secured victory in Lagos State during the 2023 presidential election as the Labour Party candidate, polling 582,354 votes against Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, who received 572,606 votes.