NOA tweaks lyrics of reintroduced national anthem

 

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) on Wednesday released the standardised lyrics of the reintroduced national anthem.

On May 29, President Bola Tinubu signed a bill reintroducing the old national anthem.

However, there have been criticisms against the reintroduction of the anthem.

Speaking at the presentation of the official version of the new national anthem in Abuja, Lanre Issa-Onilu, the director-general (DG) of NOA, said since reintroducing the old anthem, many Nigerians have shown enthusiasm and have already begun singing it.

“Most Nigerians above 50 have no issue with it. They’ve been looking for it. And we have seen that play out the way people have been singing it,” Issa-Onilu said.

“All across the country, we’ve been blown away by the kind of positive reactions, and we didn’t even expect it within 24 hours when it was signed. We saw schools already teaching and singing it.”

He said the anthem is part of the national identity project of the President Bola Tinubu administration, which is one of the “seven programmes for the institutionalisation of our national values”.

He said the objective of the event was to present the official version, which would 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 (3) of the first stanza, which reads: Though tribes and tongues may differ. Note that the words ‘tribes’ and ‘tongues’ are in the plural,” he said.

“We want you to also note that line five (5) of the first stanza reads: Nigerians all, are proud to serve. The words ‘are’ not ‘and’ is correct.”

On the official instrumental and audio rendition, Issa-Onilu said the NOA “will call for entries for the production of an authentic Nigerian melody, taking into cognisance the indigenous instrumentation of the Nigerian people.”.

“The effective date for the entries and the procedure will be announced through NOA channels in the coming week,” he added.