The House of Representative on Thursday pass the bill to return to reciting the old national anthem, Here are some facts about the old national anthem “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
The national anthem of Nigeria was written by a British expatriate, Lillian Jean Williams, and composed by Frances Berda.
The anthem was used from Nigeria’s Independence Day, 1960 until 1978.
In 1978, the current national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots,” was adopted and replaced “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
Arise, O Compatriot was composed by late Pa Benedict Odiase.
Here are the Lyrics of the old national anthem:
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.
Alleluia is the Assistant Editor and Content Writer at LagosPost.ng. She is a prolific writer and editor, she has written features and news stories on Lifestyle, Sports, Business, Politics and B2B marketing. She is also an event coordinator, host and social media content creator.
