National anthem: Four crucial bills pending at NASS for years

Senate plenary

National anthem: Four crucial bills pending at NASS for years

It took the presidency and the National Assembly only six days to introduce, debate, pass and sign the National Anthem Bill. The bill, which summarily takes Nigeria back to its old anthem, passed first and second readings in quick succession on May 23. By May 28, the Senate had passed ‘Nigeria we hail thee’ as the National Anthem and sent the bill to the presidency for assent. Barely 24 hours later, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the bill, and it became law.

Different reactions, mostly outrage, have followed the signing of this bill into law. Some Nigerians argue that the anthem, a colonial vestige, should not be a national symbol of an independent Nigeria. For some others, sensitising Nigerians to the national anthem would constitute another unnecessary expenditure for the federal government.

Most importantly, however, concerned Nigerians have questioned the relevance of the bill and the quickness of its signing, especially considering what the economic indicators in Nigeria currently look like.

FIJ has compiled a list of four more essential bills that have been stuck in the legislature for years. Some of these bills have not been passed by the National Assembly. The ones that have a legislative nod have not been signed into law by the president.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN TERTIRARY EDUCATION INSTITUTION PROHIBITION BILL

It has been more than eight years since the bill drafted to criminalise sexual harassment against students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria was introduced. But despite frequent reports on this act, especially against women, the bill has been stuck between the National Assembly and the presidency.

BILL TO DECRIMINALISE ATTEMPTED SUICIDE

Nigeria only just joined the list of countries that recognise the importance of mental health in January 2023, when Buhari signed the Mental Health Bill into law. Before then, the bill had survived two attempts at an overhaul in 2003 and in 2013. The signing of this bill made the clamour to decriminalise suicide in Nigeria louder and more pronounced.

The first significant attempt at decriminalising suicide in Nigeria started in the ninth House of Representatives. In 2022, Francis Waive, representing Ughelli north/south, sponsored the bill to scale down the punishments from a one-year jail term to community service and mandatory counselling.

However, the bill could not scale legislative scrutiny. In March, the new bill to decriminalise suicide passed second reading in the House of Representatives, about two years after the first attempt, courtesy of Waive.

EMPLOYEE RENUMERATION PROTECTION BILL

FIJ has reported several cases of employers refusing to pay their employees. With the right laws in place, it is possible that employees will be better protected.

There have been two major attempts by the National Assembly to protect employees in Nigeria from employers that owe salaries. In 2016, the Employees/Workman (Unpaid Wages Prohibition) Bill 2016’ was introduced in the National Assembly. The bill didn’t pass the first reading until 2019, after which it was recalled by the ninth assembly for reconsideration.

Another attempt at protecting employees did not resurface until three years later, when Adewale Hameed, representing the Agege Federal Constituency, sponsored the Employee Renumeration Protection Bill. According to the bill tracker of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Center, the bill has only just passed first reading since it was introduced in July 2023.