President Bola Tinubu has signed the National Anthem Bill 2024 into law, reinstating Nigeria’s original national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee”.
“This morning, Mr. President signed into an Act of Parliament, the newly passed National Anthem Bill 2024,” Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced on Wednesday at a joint session of the National Assembly celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Nigeria’s 4th Republic.
This event also marked the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
President Tinubu, who later attended the joint session, confirmed ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’ as the new national anthem.
Akpabio noted that the session’s primary purpose was to launch the new anthem, explaining that the President would not make a speech as he needed to leave to inaugurate the Abuja metro line.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives had previously approved the legislation to replace the current national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots,” with “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” in separate sessions.
Following the President’s signing of the bill, the joint session officially adopted the old anthem, which had been in place from Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960, until 1978, as the new national anthem.
“Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” written by British expatriate Lillian Jean Williams and composed by Frances Berda, played a significant role in shaping Nigeria’s national identity and unity during the 1960s and late 1970s.
What are the lyrics to Nigeria We Hail Thee?
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.
