Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu on Wednesday signed the old National Anthem Bill 2024 into Law.
TheNewsGuru.com understands that the Old Anthem, ‘’Nigeria We Hail’’ will be replacing the current one, “Arise, O Compatriots”.
Although there have been trails of mixed reactions since this development, as many likened the old anthem to having colonial tags, below are some of the important things to know note about the new anthem.
1, The old National Anthem was recited for the first time today during a joint session of the National Assembly after it was enacted into law by President Tinubu.
2, The anthem which was written by Lillian Jean William in 1959 was adopted in October 1, 1960 and later replaced with “Arise, O Compatriots” in 1978.
3, Frances Berda composed the music for “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
4, The anthem has three stanzas, below are the lyrics;
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.
And lastly, the Nigerian Senate had the first reading for the old National Anthem Bill on Thursday 23 May 2024.