A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has slammed the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and the National Assembly over the Counter Subversion Bill 2024, which aims to impose stringent penalties on Nigerians who fail to recite the national anthem.
According to the bill sponsored by Abbas, anyone found guilty of refusing to recite the national anthem shall be fined N5 million, face a 10-year prison sentence, or both.
Reacting via her X handle, Ezekwesili described the proposed legislation as a silly flight of fancy that further reveals how unserious and irrelevant the lawmakers are to the Nigerian condition.
The former Minister reiterated that she would not sing the revert old national anthem, which President Bola Tinubu signed into law in May and challenged the National Assembly to prosecute her.
She said, “I am certain that the Speaker of the @HouseNGR @Speaker_Abbas @nassnigeria knows this for a fact. Surely, he must know that the so-called #CounterSubversionBill which he introduced- and alleged to be in its second reading – is a silly flight of fancy that further reveals how unserious and irrelevant the lawmakers are to the Nigerian condition.
“I for example have kept my public statement and only stand and sing the REAL Nigerian National Anthem (Arise O Compatriots), never the Colonial and “tribal” one that he and his colleagues conspired with @NGRPresident and kangarooed into “law” in violation of Constitutional processes. Get ready to “prosecute” me when you pass your noxious #CounterSubversionBill into an Act.
“But before then, please note that if there is any group of Nigerians that deserve a Subversion Act, it is you and your colleagues at the @nassnigeria who consistently subverts the progress of Nigeria and her people through your legendary public misdemeanors that accumulate into Bad Governance.
“Your citizens have spoken up in unison, asking you and your colleagues in the Executive and Judicial Arms to #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria . You obviously have still not heard the ticking chimes of time. Continue with your irrelevancies while the country totters. Continue if it pays you.”
