The National Anthem. Both old and new. These
are the lyrics to both:
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
And this we count as gain
To pass unto 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
The old one. Written by Lillian Jean Williams and composed
by Frances Berda. Sung by our fathers, our mothers, our
teachers at the time when nationality was pride and brand
new from 1960 to 1978…
Arise, O Compatriots,
Nigeria’s call obey
To serve our Fatherland
With love and strength and faith
The labour of our heroes past
Shall never be in vain,
To serve with heart and might
One nation bound in freedom,
Peace and unity.
Oh God of creation,
Direct our noble cause
Guide our leaders right
Help our youth 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.
The new one. Written by John A. Ikechukwu, Eme Etim
Akpan, Babatunde A. Ogunnaike, Sotu Omoigui and P. O.
Aderogbu, five winners of a competition and composed
by Benedict Odiase. Adopted in 1978, during the Military
regime under the Obasanjo administration while making
plans to hand over to Civilian Rule under Shehu Shagari.
Sung by me, you, all who call Nigeria their home country.
But then, I dunno…maybe it’s me. Or do you get that feeling
too when you read the words of the first national anthem
and they seem stronger and hold on to the promises that
where made when we first became Nigeria. I can actually
hear my parents sing the old anthem and how the words
strike gold because they finally had Nigeria in their hands.
They actually had a sense of nationality and deep long
history with every word that was written and sung. As they
pass by the green-white-green flag, they remember the day
the Union Jack was finally lowered at Lokoja and their
motherland was finally an equal with the colonial masters.
The pride in the air was so thick, strong, resilient people
finally knowing where they stand and what they fight for…
Skip ahead 57 years later…
Kids, playing around underneath dirth piece of cloth strung
up a flag pole. The green-white-green struggles to lift itself
in the wind as the soot, pollution and disregard of its
citizens weighs it down. There is a video going round on the
internet where a kid of God knows how old tears apart the
national anthem. its a funny video, I wouldn’t lie. But if a
kid like her could understand the meaning of the words she
sang, she would have probably done a better job at it. She
would have felt the pride of the teacher that taught her the
song. But, she didn’t…Not because she didnt want to but
because there was no pride in singing the song for the
teacher him/herself.
At the time the new anthem came in, I believe that was
when all pride of being one nation was taken over by greed
and ethnicity. Everyone wanted to be in government. The
Military had a taste of power and lets face it, who would
want to let go of that kind of power and wealth that was at
your disposal? if you had the magic-stick in your hand, you
were a mini-god. There was disarray. No one knew what
they were doing. All just wanted to be the one that the cap
fits.
“What’s in it for me” became the rule of law. “Scratch my
back and I scratch yours as long as we get rich” became
the friendship of the day. And this trickled down to the
masses and every individual on the streets. The high and
mighty green-white-green was no longer a sight to behold.
The words ” To pass unto our children, A banner without
stain” were left behind.
If words could cry, these words “Help us to build a
nation, Where no man is oppressed, And so with peace and
plenty, Nigeria may be blessed” would shed tears of blood.
The old pledge was left to die with no remorse and no guilt.
it’s such that even the verses “The labour of our heroes
past, Shall never be in vain, To serve with heart and
might, One nation bound in freedom, Peace and unity” are
now empty vessels that make the loudest noise.
This is what we have been left with. Empty promises made
on the foundation of broken promises.... Let this 57 years stand for something, let's build a new Nigeria despite our ethnicity, our cultural differences nd and tradition to build "ONE NIGERIA" THE GAINTS OF AFRICA.
