“Get Ready To Prosecute Me” – Oby Ezekwesili Criticizes Proposed Counter Subversion Bill

Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili has criticized the Counter Subversion Bill, calling it “obnoxious” and challenging the House of Representatives to prosecute her if the bill becomes law.

The Speaker of the House of Representative, Tajudeen Abbas, recently introduced the controversial Counter Subversion Bill 2024, which is set for its second reading.

The bill proposes strict penalties for Nigerians who refuse to recite the national anthem, including a N5 million fine, a 10-year prison sentence, or both.

The legislation also includes similar penalties for those who protest or destroy national symbols or places of worship.

Reacting to the bill, Ezekwesili accused Speaker Abbas and the National Assembly of conspiring with President Bola Tinubu to revert to the old national anthem, “Nigeria We Hail Thee,” and bypassing the constitutional process.

The former minister, who spoke via her X page, expressed her refusal to sing the reverted anthem and criticized the lawmakers for being out of touch with the real issues facing Nigeria.

She wrote: “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—alleged to be in its second reading—which he introduced, 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 @nassnigeria, who consistently subvert 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.”

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…

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) August 14, 2024

KanyiDaily recalls that in May, President Bola Tinubu signed a law to revert to Nigeria’s old national anthem, which had been replaced by a military government in 1978.