The Federal Government has released new directives on how Nigerians should sing the national anthem during official ceremonies.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the government instructed that only the first stanza of the anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” should be sung at all official events, while the third stanza will now serve as the National Prayer at the start of such occasions.
“Recite or sing only the first stanza (not all three) at official events,” the agency stated. “The third stanza should be recited as the National Prayer at the beginning of an event.”
The NOA clarified that all three stanzas of the anthem are to be rendered only on special national occasions, including Independence Day, Presidential Inaugurations, Armed Forces Remembrance Day, Democracy Day (June 12), and the inauguration of the National Assembly.
It also directed that the National Pledge be recited at the end of every official function.
In May 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed into law the bill reintroducing Nigeria’s old anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” which replaced “Arise, O Compatriots,” first adopted in 1978.
Below are the lyrics of the reintroduced anthem:
Stanza 1
Nigeria, we hail thee
Our own dear native land
Though tribes and tongues may differ
In brotherhood, we stand
Nigerians all are proud to serve
Our sovereign Motherland.
Stanza 2
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.
Stanza 3 (National Prayer)
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.
