A renowned activist, Aisha Yesufu, has caused a national debate by refusing to stand for Nigeria’s newly reinstated national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” at a recent event.

President Bola Tinubu signed the reinstated anthem into law on Wednesday, a day after it was approved by both chambers of the National Assembly.

The bill was introduced and passed by the House of Representatives and, later, the Senate in less than a week, which is unusual for important bills that are typically debated for weeks or months.

The reintroduced anthem was originally introduced in 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain and was written by Lillian Jean Williams, a British expatriate. It was replaced in 1978 by “Arise, O Compatriots,” under the military government of Olusegun Obasanjo.

That anthem, written at a time when the country was reeling from a deadly civil war, calls on Nigerians to “serve our fatherland with love and strength” and not let “the labour of our heroes past [be] in vain.”

However, Yesufu, a co-convener of the BringBackOurGirls advocacy group, posted a video on social media showing her sitting with the caption “#NotMyNationalAnthem” while others stood to honour the anthem, ‘Nigeria We Hail Thee’.

Her gesture has sparked a national debate, igniting both support and harsh criticism.

Joe Igbokwe, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), reacted to Yesufu’s action on his Facebook page on Saturday, condemning her behaviour and warning that it could harm her and her family.

“Aisha Yesufu cannot respect the National Anthem. Let us see where all the nonsensical behaviour will take her. She may not understand the damage she is doing to herself and her family. Continue,” Igbokwe wrote.

Yesufu responded to Igbokwe’s criticism with a laughing emoji and asked Igbokwe to “please call a family meeting” and “ask them to speak freely and tell him if they are not ashamed of who he is.”

“A desperado who goes about licking every behind no matter how smelly to be considered worthy of a morsel from the national cake,” Yesufu added.

Some users, like J.O.E., who tweets on the handle @LegendaryJoe, criticised Yesufu, calling her behaviour a “fatuous display of disapproval” and accusing her of inconsistency in her activism.

J.O.E also called Yesufu a “Hijabist Cashtivist” and noted that she is more famous for her dance of shame than for any noble cause.

He stated, “INCONSISTENT ALUTA… A full-grown husband and mother of grown-ups was recently seen throwing tantrums and swimming in stinking bate, as a fatuous display of disapproval of the new anthem…

“The Hijabist Cashtivist, more famous for her dance of shame than for any noble cause, did not become demented overnight. She evolved gradually into her current irreversible lunatic state… She started from ‘Not my President’ and now ‘Not my anthem.’ I say why stop there? If you can publicly disregard the symbol of your country’s manifestation, you can as well say ‘Not my country’…

“And since every Naira you spend carries the signature of Tinubu’s man (the CBN Governor), you must also abstain from its use, ‘Not my currency,’ only then will the people take you seriously. We all enjoy a market show of a lunatic, but none will crave to have such as his own…

“A humble counsel to my friend the ‘non compos mentis,’ Be consistent in your aluta, do not do only the convenient… . Good Luck Ma and remember to pay your tax to Tinubu’s FIRS (abi no be so @mrlurvy?..).”

Another user, Dami, who tweeted via @GeeKinqest on X, said, “I like Aisha Yesufu, but she disrespected the country by not standing for the National Anthem. These things don’t speak well for us as a nation; if we act this way just because we aren’t comfortable with the government in power. How then are we different from the thugs supporting them.”

And Greek, who described himself as a Licensed Financial Analyst and tweets via the handle, @sirgreek98) on X, agreed with Dami despite his admiration for the #BringBackOurGirls co-covener, stating, “Aisha Yesufu, in as much as I respect you, because of your vision for and struggle for a better Nigeria, sitting down when the national anthem is going is an insult to the nation and the law of the federation (#nigeria), you deserve to be punished, Ajie.”

Wisdom sees Yesufu’s actions as “irritating” and disrespectful to the country.

“She’s nothing but an activist and it’s very irritating. Truthfully, I’m not in support of the new anthem or whatsoever, but government is still government and no matter what it takes we still adhere to the new anthem. So woman stop fooling around and stop disrespecting your country,” he tweeted via @IsBack72.

Lala added, “She just disrespected the whole country. This is something that can get you arrested in another country. But my people are bitter, blinded by rage to the extent of applauding nuisance. May God help us.”

Your Go-To-Guy/@Ricky_Udy noted, “Islam stated clearly about obeying constituted authority. This is the most stupid opposition I have seen in my life. For Nigeria, even if the anthem is silent, we’ll still stand.”

Meanwhile, some voices defended Yesufu’s right to protest.

A user named Horllazy/(@Horllazy7, a comedian and content creator, said, “Aisha Yesufu’s attitude of not standing up during the recitation of the new national anthem wasn’t different from those who disrespected our flag back then at Lekki tollgate. I would even sleep on the floor if I was there. We shouldn’t accept everything thrown at us. Be mature Nigerians!”

Another user, who simply identified himself as Moyor/@riccoForty, said, “They said it’s a nonsensical behaviour, Omo the government is a nonsensical one as well. Despite the sufferings of people in the country, this is what they could offer: ‘renewing the national anthem.’ Nonsense!”