Unarguably, singing a national
anthem elicits patriotism and pride from citizens of a country.
Political pundits agree that a
national anthem symbolises the sovereignty of a country.
Nigeria’s first national anthem,
“Nigeria We Hail Thee,” adopted in 1960, was written by Miss Lillian Williams,
a Briton. The current national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots,” was adopted in
1978 to replace “Nigeria We Hail Thee.”
The stanzas of the current anthem
are the products of five winners in a competition conducted by the National
Publicity Committee of Nigeria.
The winners were -John Ilechukwu,
Eme Etim Akpan, B.A. Ogunnaike, Sota Omoigui and P.O. Aderibigbe.
The words were put together to
compose the anthem by the Nigerian Police Band, under the directorship of late
Benedict Odiase.
In the past, because of the
importance attached to national anthem, children were taught in school to stand
at attention while singing the anthem.
For now, that practice appears to be
waning, while the tune of the anthem, in some cases, has been altered by
artistes.
They attribute the development to
poor attitude of the public to the nation’s cultural heritage as well as
ignorance of their civic responsibilities.
For instance, some few years ago, it
was surprising that some political appointees, who appeared for screening, were
unable to recite the national anthem and the national pledge correctly.
Worried by the inability of many
Nigerians to sing the national anthem, the National Orientation Agency (NOA),
advocates that the second stanza of the national anthem should be adopted as
“prayer” in public functions.
The stanza reads: “O God of
creation, direct our noble cause, guide our leaders right, help our youths the
truth to know, in love and honesty to grow and living just and true, great
lofty heights attain, to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.”
Paul Odenyi said that NOA would not
relent in its efforts to popularize the national anthem.