June 05, (THEWILL) – The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has unveiled the official version of the reinstated national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”.
Director-General of the Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, who unveiled the anthem on Wednesday, in Abuja, urged Nigerians to pay attention to the words in lines three and five of the reinstated National Anthem.
THEWILL had reported that President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, May 29, assented to the bill that mandated Nigeria to revert to the use of ‘Nigeria, We hail Thee’ as the new national anthem, thus replacing ‘Arise O Compatriots’.
The NOA, as the custodian of the nation’s symbols, has the mandate to promote and preserve the integrity of all national icons, including the National Anthem.
Speaking on Wednesday while unveiling the Anthem, Issa-Onilu said, “Today’s event is to present the official version which will clear all doubts about the correct lyrics as contained in the Act signed by the President.
“We call the attention of Nigerians to line three of the first stanza, which reads: ‘Though tribes and tongues may differ’. Note that the words ‘tribes’ and ‘tongues’ are in plural.
“We want you to also note that line five of the first stanza reads: ‘Nigerians all, are proud to serve’. The word ‘are’, not ‘and’ is correct.”
Below are all three stanzas of the approved version of the National Anthem.
Stanza 1
Nigeria, we hail thee
Our own dear native land
Though tribes and tongues may differ
In brotherhood, we stand
Nigerians all, are proud to serve
Our sovereign Motherland.
Stanza 2
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.
Stanza 3
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.
