The National Orientation Agency (NOA) on Wednesday released the standardised version of the reintroduced national anthem.
This followed different versions of the reintroduced anthem on social media after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed it into law on May 29, 2024.
The Director General of the Agency, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, who presented the authentic version of the anthem at a press conference in Abuja, said it will clear all doubts about the anthem’s correct lyrics as contained in the Act signed by the President.
Issa-Onilu while making some clarification 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.”
He said the word “and” in line five of the first stanza was corrected to “are,” making the official line read: “Nigerians all, are proud to serve.”
Issa-Onilu said, “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.”
He said the agency will soon call for entries into the new national anthem production of an authentic Nigerian melody.
He said, “The NOA will call for entries for the production of an authentic Nigerian melody, taking into consideration 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.”
According to him, the new national anthem is in line with the nation’s ideology and had received much commendation from well-meaning Nigerians.
