President Bola Tinubu
President Tinubu approves change of Nigeria’s national anthem
President Bola Tinubu has approved the reverting of Nigeria’s current National Anthem, “Arise O Compatriots,” to the old anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio announced this on Wednesday during a joint session of the National Assembly.
Akpabio explained that the senate sitting was primarily to unveil the new national anthem.
Tinubu, who later joined the NASS joint session, confirmed ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’ as the “latest national anthem”.
It would be recalled that the Senate had on Tuesday passed the “National Anthem Bill, 2024.
That was one week after it was passed by the House of Representives.
The reintroduced anthem, ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’ was composed when Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1960.
It was replaced with the ‘Arise O’ Compatriots’ version in 1978.
Lillian Jean Williams, a British expatriate who lived in Nigeria during its independence, penned the lyrics for “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
Frances Berda composed the music.
The anthem played a significant role in shaping Nigeria’s national identity and unity during the 1960s and late 1970s.
Its lyrics goes like this:
Nigeria, we hail thee,
Our own dear native land,
Though tribe and tongue may differ,
In brotherhood, we stand,
Nigerians all, are proud to serve
Our sovereign Motherland.
