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We’re back to the basics with our Nigerian national anthem. The “Arise O compatriots” era which started in 1978 has come to an end as of today, May 29, 2024. The newly approved national anthem is the first anthem ever adopted after independence “Nigeria We Hail Thee”.
It was written by Lillian Jean while the music was composed by Frances Berda in 1959. Nigeria used this anthem for 18 years (1950-1978) before adopting “Arise O compatriots”, and now we’re back to it.
Lyrics of ‘Nigeria We Hail Thee’
Nigeria, we hail thee,
Our own dear native land,
Though tribe and tongue may differ,
In brotherhood, we stand,
Nigerians all, and proud to serve
Our sovereign Motherland.
Our flag shall be a symbol
That truth and justice reign,
In peace or battle honour’d,
And this we count as gain,
To hand on to our children
A banner without stain.
O God of all creation,
Grant this our one request,
Help us to build a nation
Where no man is oppressed,
And so with peace and plenty
Nigeria may be blessed.
Unlike the anthem we’re used to, this one seems shorter, and we can bet that the students in schools are already learning the new anthem. You should get on board too.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it’s recommended for a country to have a mix of 23 doctors, midwives and nurses per 10,000 people. However, the doctor-to-patient ratio in Nigeria is 1 to 30,000 patients in the South and 1 to 45,000 patients in the North.
To tackle this problem, the House of Representatives, Nigeria’s junior legislative chamber, is blaming japa—emigration—and on April 6, 2023, a dreary Medical and Dental Practitioners Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022 passed for second reading.
What is this bill?
The MDPA Bill would make it compulsory for any Nigerian-trained medical doctor or dentist to practise in Nigeria for at least five years before being granted a full licence.
The House of Reps gave two reasons for this bill:
To make quality healthcare available to Nigerians and avoid a total collapse of our health sector.
Medical education is heavily subsidised in Nigeria compared to schools in the United States and Europe, and this is a way for doctors to give back to the country.
However, the House of Representatives might be turning a blind eye to the deplorable state of Nigeria’s healthcare system.
For instance, on December 8, 2022, the Abia chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association embarked on a strike to demand payment of salaries owed to them by the State government. Also, Nigerian hospitals lack proper funding and infrastructure; doctors are forced to work under poor conditions and are often underpaid.
Reactions to the Bill
There have been mixed reactions to the Bill so far; some people agree with the government, while others think the House of Reps is showing a more advanced form of wickedness.
The Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria (MDCAN) have rejected the Bill and described it as modern-day slavery. And this is against Section 34(1) b of the Nigerian constitution, which says, “No person shall be held in slavery or servitude”, and Section 34(1) c, which states: “No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.”
Unfortunately, the House of Reps skipped over steps of providing standard medical infrastructure, improving working conditions and increasing the pay of medical practitioners to instead infringe on their fundamental human rights. They also failed to address the amount of money spent on medical tourism by public officials.
Members of the House of Reps should first remove the log of wood in their eyes before trying to tie down medical practitioners simply looking for greener pastures.
If you saw violence during the 2023 elections and thought, “Where did we go wrong?” We have the answer for you. Join us on Twitter Spaces on Friday, April 14th, by 6 pm as we talk to historians to give us a perspective on that slice of history.Save the date!
It’s no secret that for a while now, Nigerians have clamoured for the legalisation of Cannabis, also called marijuana or weed, and it seems like federal lawmakers are finally considering it.
What happened?
According to the current National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, if you’re caught in possession of marijuana, you’re liable to a minimum of 12 years in prison and, in cases of trafficking, life imprisonment.
But a bill co-sponsored by Benjamin Kalu, Olumide Osoba and Miriam Onuoha seeks to amend the NDLEA Act to instead allow and regulate the growth and cultivation of Cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. This bill proposes establishing a system for the NDLEA to register, issue and revoke licences of Cannabis producers and users.
However, at the second reading of this bill on March 23, 2023, several members of the House of Representatives opposed and criticised it, which led to the House stepping down the bill for further legislative action.
An argument from many people in support of legalising weed in Nigeria is that it’s a lesser evil. For instance, it’s presumably “safer” than cigarettes and alcohol. Here are some perceived benefits of legalising Cannabis in Nigeria.
Medicinal benefits
Over the years, marijuana’s medicinal properties have been one of its major selling points. Studies have shown that it helps with cancer treatments and pain relief. In 2018, the Federal and Drug Administration Agency (FDA) approved using a medication containing Cannabis to treat epilepsy.
Another Source of Revenue
Although Cannabis is illegal in Nigeria, the NDLEA disclosed that nearly 10.6 million Nigerians used it in 2022. Legalising it would mean it can be taxed, and we can join the likes of Malawi and Zambia and make millions in revenue from the global marijuana market.
Reduced police brutality
The Nigerian police have unfortunately used the excuse of “finding” weed on young people for harassment and assault. Cannabis legalisation would hopefully reduce these occurrences, and the police could spend time tracking down offenders of serious crimes.
One of the reasons why members of the House of Representatives opposed this bill is concerns of abuse and addiction. These concerns are legitimate; with this, we’ll break down some cons of legalising Cannabis in Nigeria.
Drug abuse
Nigeria is battling a drug abuse problem, for instance, crystal meth in the South-East. Cannabis can be a gateway drug leading people to more severe drugs like cocaine and heroin.
Psychological side effects
Although marijuana is repeatedly termed “harmless”, we shouldn’t forget that it has hallucinogenic properties. And if abused, it can cause delusions and hallucinations, anxiety, panic attacks and reduced muscle control. There are records from hospitals in Benin, Edo state which showed that between 1999 to 2022, 70 per cent of 849 first-time psychiatric hospital visits were caused by Cannabis abuse.
It can end up with children
Although an age limit will be placed for cannabis use, it will likely end up in children’s hands, which can lead them to drug abuse and addiction from an early age.
It’s just as dangerous as a cigarette
Another point to dispel the belief that marijuana is harmless is that just like a regular cigarette, it’s also dangerous to your lungs and maybe even worse. A journal revealed that one joint of marijuana is equivalent to five cigarettes.
We don’t know yet if the House of Representatives will succeed in legalising Cannabis, but there is a lot to think about.
On December 7, 2022, the House of Representatives passed a bill titled, “Act to Re-amend the Child Rights Act, Cap. C50, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004”, for second reading.
This bill ensures children won’t be abandoned whenever or wherever they’re born. Parents found guilty of abandoning children would either be fined a sum of ₦200k, sent to prison for six months or both.
This is definitely a good step by the government to tackle a very serious problem, but it’s difficult to ignore the fact they may have failed to take certain things into consideration before this bill.
We still have archaic abortion laws
On October 8, 2019, a one-day-old baby was found in a refuse dump covered with maggots in Lokoja, Kogi State. Fortunately, the baby survived because residents took her to a specialist hospital for treatment. When the government found the mother of the baby, she refused to take her back. The baby ended up in an orphanage.
In 2017, the Lagos State government rescued about 237 abandoned babies, and one of the reasons these things will continue to happen is the country has refused to reform its abortion laws. Nigerian women don’t have a legal second option when they end up with unwanted pregnancies.
Our anti-abortion laws put women found guilty of violating it at risk of seven years in jail. So, these women are left with the possibility of either abandoning the child or illegally terminating the pregnancies at the risk of their lives.
We need better welfare programmes
During the passing of the bill for a second reading, lawmakers discussed the need for Nigeria to develop something similar to America’s social security system. Nigeria currently has over 17 million orphans and vulnerable children, some of them abandoned as children. They still struggle daily to access food, shelter, education, protection, and care. What’s the government currently doing to address the problem with functional social welfare services?
We need a working economy
Poverty is another reason parents choose to abandon their children. On April 21, 2020, a six-month-old baby was found by the roadside with a note from the mother saying she had no means to care for her. For those who decide not to abandon the child, they try to sell them off at a baby factory.
With the level of inflation in the country now and the price of things increasing almost every week, life must be especially difficult for those who struggle to make ends meet, how much more so for a new mother.
So while lawmakers make laws, they must realise the trend of parents abandoning children has more to do with a failing system than wickedness. They should first try to take out the log in their eyes before throwing these people into prison.
