The Federal Government has urged Nigerians to seek formal approval before using the national anthem to avoid potential misuse or misinterpretation.
Lanre Issa-Onilu, Director General of the National Orientation Agency, stressed in a statement issued on Wednesday the significance of seeking authorisation from the agency before Nigerians use the anthem or its lyrics.
“As custodians of Nigeria’s national symbols, the NOA is tasked with preventing all forms of misuse. Permission must be sought from the agency to avoid misrepresentation,” the statement partly read.
Issa-Onilu announced that sensitisation campaigns would be undertaken soon across the 36 states of the federation to provide clarification on the agency’s new policies and standards.
The NOA boss also addressed the Nigerian flag, emphasising that its official colours remain green, white, and green, with Emerald 2.0 being the precise shade of green.
The DG bemoaned that previous governments focused too much on infrastructural development while ignoring value orientation, resulting in the loss of social intervention structures like the Boys’ Scouts, Girls’ Brigade, WAI Brigade, and even the National Orientation Agency itself.
He praised President Bola Tinubu for seeing the gap and supporting the resurgence of value-driven projects.
On his first anniversary in office, the President signed legislation to reintroduce Nigeria’s old national song, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
The anthem, originally written by Lillian Jean Williams and composed by Frances Berda in 1959, was discontinued by a military administration in 1978 but has since been reinstated.
