As the change of the National Anthem continue to generate controversy, the Federal Government has said it will soon launch a competition among Nigerian musicians on the official rendition of ‘Nigeria we hail thee’.
Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), made this known on Saturday.
Hw said, “The national anthem must be officially rendered. Everyone should know the official rendition of the anthem, the process will begin soon
“We are going to call for entries from musicians and others. This is an opportunity for us to have a national anthem that we can all connect with.
“Can we put together our local instruments and produce a very beautiful rendition? these are the things we are looking at.”
Briefing journalists in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, while speaking to newsmen on some key programmes currently being implemented of the agency, he noted that the new anthem was more impactful than the former.
“It is more impactful, more meaningful and capable of uniting Nigerians more,” he said.
He said that the new anthem not only brought back sense of patriotism and nationalism, but evoked the consciousness of Nigerians
“The national anthem that we had in 1960 resonates more in comparison to the one we just changed.
“The lyrics are more impactful and more meaningful than the one that we just dumped. That is the real reason for going back to that,” he said.
Issa-Onilu noted that the national anthem is part of the values of a country, which should make the citizens to appreciate one another.
He said the agency would soon begin the process of fashioning out a proper and acceptable way of rendering the anthem.
