Director-general of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, has said the agency would soon call for entries to produce a new National Anthem with an authentic Nigerian melody.
Addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja during the presentation of the official version of the new Nationa Anthem, Issa-Onilu said the event was organised to clarify any doubts about the anthem’s correct lyrics as contained in the Act signed by the president.
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.”
He says the new national anthem aligns with the nation’s ideology and has received much commendation from well-meaning Nigerians.
While clarifying line three of the anthem, he 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 plural.
“We also want you to note that line five of the first stanza reads: ‘Nigerians all, are proud to serve.’ The word ‘are,’ not ‘and’ is correct.”
