By Ighomuaye Lucky. O
Forty six years after the old Nigeria national anthem was stopped and a new national anthem adopted,
President Bola Tinubu has signed the National Anthem Bill 2024 into law.
The bill seeks to replace the old anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
This was said by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the joint plenary that Tinubu also attended.
Recall that the lyrics of the old national anthem “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” were penned by Lillian Jean Williams, a British expatriate residing in Nigeria.
And it was the national anthem of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from independence in 1960 until 1978, when “Arise, O Compatriots” was adopted.
And it goes thus:
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.
