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'd,
And this we count as gain,
To hand on to 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.


http://www.nationalanthems.information/ng-78.htm


Nigeria
"Nigeria We Hail Thee"

Words by: Lilian Jean Williams
Music by: Frances Benda
In use: 1960-1978

Nigeria's first anthem, written by a British expatriate, was in use until 1978, when the government changed the anthem. (This anthem still can be heard in Nigeria as a form of protest against the government.)

I think that's about a very good national anthem any nation could have. That's very perfect. I'm sure the reason they changed it is because of their protest against Brits. ""A nation where no man shall be opressed" now why would they change that? When we are going anti western in some of our things, let us also note that some of their philosophies are the best for the people and they have very good doctrines that helps mankind advance. Whites have become a part of our history in Africa and years of brainwashing can't change that. If the people know of slavery and how they got into it, they'll know how to avoid it. That national anthem was creative. We should've allowed the Whites to stay.

I love this old one better than the "arise o compatriot". It makes more sense. i wonder why they changed it.

Nice one.
No doubting this was a much better anthem than the one written by Odiase.
Even the tune, words, everying, expresses to a large extent our hopes and dreams for the nation.
The current anthem sounds bland, even hypocritical.

I guess there was no banner without stain to hand to his children and he was planning to oppress us too.
Ssshhhhhh!, don't tell Obasanjo I said it, otherwise he will oppre, help!!!!! he got me

GOOOD PEOPLE, GREAT NATION
LET THERE BE MORE FOOD
AND LEES OPRESSION FROM THE MIGTHY

The new one is far better than the old one,quote me wrong with instances.

I have always preferred the old one. Both have great lyrics but the old one sounds more melodious .

AjanleKoko:

Nice one.
No doubting this was a much better anthem than the one written by Odiase.
Even the tune, words, everying, expresses to a large extent our hopes and dreams for the nation.
The current anthem sounds bland, even hypocritical.

Yes!!

same goes for the flag. its carries nothing patriotic.
maybe we should even change the name of the country?

Please, can someone out there tell Mr President to ''Bring back our old National Anthem'' because it reflects our hopes and aspirations as well as demonstrated Nigerians need for dignity.  For example, the 2nd section cries that 'we hand our children a banner without stain'. You see, Nigerians are very proud people - but, you only have to have a look at Nigerian flag and you know exactly what it represents - our name is rubbish abroad, look at out justice system, corruption is rife - every aspect of government and community is full of it, not to talk of political killings or do I say the neglect of our Social, Health and Education system and so on.  Does this represent the kind of banner it says we should hand to our children? The 3rd section, suggests that 'Nigerians longs for peace and that peace can only bring stability and growth hence a land of plenty and a blessed one for that matter. 

Imagine, the Colonials even foresaw Nigeria as a blessed country at that time remember that, this crude oil that has been a curse as well as a blessing to us had not been discovered when this beautiful and sweet Anthem was written and sang.  Oh, my God, the wordings of this sweet and patriotic Nigerian National Anthem is more than prophetic - reflecting ideas from which our beautiful Nigeria should have been built and developed.  If this had been allowed to happen, many Nigerians living abroad today would not have escaped their own country for greener pastures else where,  what a shame!!!!!  Our God will judge!!  Mr President, please bring back our original, sweet and patriotic National Anthem.    

God bless you Nigeria!

Old anthem is better.

Definitely the old one

Certainly the new old one

The old anthem was a relic of British rule, how can our National Anthem be written by a foreigner? Can't people in Nigeria compose an anthem?

sleek_p:

how can our National Anthem be written by a foreigner?

so what if it was written by a foreigner. For God's sake, stop being biased. That anthem is far better than the hypocritical one we have today. How i wish i have Dora's number, i will tell her to initiate the use of the old anthem in the Rebranding Nigeria scheme.

Nigeria we hail thee makes a lot of sense!!!

NIGERIA- Good People, Great Nation

sleek_p:

The old anthem  was a relic of British rule, how can our National Anthem be written by a foreigner?  Can't people in Nigeria compose an anthem?

Yeh! What a logical and intelligent man!  But check, the language in which he wrote his commentary - what is it?

A foreign language, and if you check further the cloths and shoes on his feet, have all the hallmarks of foreign ideas.  The cars, lorries, trains, aeroplanes, satellite, etc  in Nigeria are all foreign ideas.  Shame, on their stupid pride!!!

Nigeria we hail thee!  And God bless Nigeria!

The old anthem is better than the one we currently use. I long for the day when Nigeria will start competing with the industrialized countries. We have got all it takes to beome a Superpower. We need to change our attitude to the way we see our country. I'm sharing President Umar YarAdua's pains. Our president is not happy that Nigeria was not invited to the G20 summit in London. Fellow Nairalanders, you need to read his emotional response to Nigeria's exclusion from the London event in The Guardian. That was the first time that I would see the president feeling concerned about the state of the nation.

I believe Yar'Adua and a couple of Governors are determined to turn things around in the country. However, we need to help them. They cannot do it alone. They need our support. As much as we love to criticize our leaders for their shortcomings, I feel it is high time for us to step into the battlefield and fight alongside them. It is not easy to lead. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Let us look at the movie, BRAVEHEART. Wiliams Wallace was able to conquer the English army because of the support he got from his men. He was not the only one on the battlefield o. One of his men, who was even Irish, saved him from being killed by an assassin. The Irish warrior was always watching the back of Wallace [ Mel Gibson ]. After Wallace was captured and killed by the English through treachery and betrayal, Robert the Bruce took over as leader of the Scottish army and the men of William Wallace. And what did Robert the Bruce do? At the next battle with the new English King and his Army, he told his men before charging at their enemies- '' You bled with Wallace, bleed with me!!! ''. What happened? The Scots were inspired by the words of their leader and they followed him into battle. They won a great victory that day.

Let us support our leaders as they strive to steer Nigeria towards development and economic recovery. Let us support Dora Akunyili and her Rebranding campaign. I have noticed respected Nigerians already criticizing her on the pages of Newspapers. They are saying she would fail even when she has not started her demanding work. When will we shed this negative mentality of ours? I know Yar'Adua has good intentions for Nigeria. He is only being sorrounded by saboteurs. If we can rally around our President by starting our own individual development oriented projects in our respective spheres of influence, the bad eggs in his cabinet will be destroyed. We need to be good followers too. Let the old anthem inspire us into believing in the manifest destiny of Nigeria. Cheers.

The new one is far better

Theblessed:


Yeh! What a logical and intelligent man!  But check, the language in which he wrote his commentary - what is it?

A foreign language, and if you check further the cloths and shoes on his feet, have all the hallmarks of foreign ideas.  The cars, lorries, trains, aeroplanes, satellite, etc  in Nigeria are all foreign ideas.  Shame, on their stupid pride!!!

Nigeria we hail thee!  And God bless Nigeria!

I never heard anything so incongruous, so because my shoes were made by foreigners then my country's national anthem should be written by a foreigner. How ludicrous can some people be.
A Chinese, Arab, Indian, Japanese, American even a Ghana man would wear foreign clothes, drive foreign cars, eat foreign food but have a national anthem written by there citizen, why?
Nigeria stopped being a British colony in 1960 why should we Nigerians hold on to words written for us by Brits. As I asked earlier, can't we find amongst the 140,000.000 Nigerians a man who can compose an anthem?

sleek_p:

I never heard anything so incongruous, so because my shoes were made by foreigners then my country's national anthem should be written by a foreigner. How ludicrous can some people be.
A Chinese, Arab, Indian, Japanese, American even a Ghana man would wear foreign clothes, drive foreign cars, eat foreign food but have a national anthem written by there citizen, why?
Nigeria stopped being a British colony in 1960 why should we Nigerians hold on to words written for us by Brits. As  I asked earlier, can't we find amongst the 140,000.000 Nigerians a man who can compose an anthem?

Hmmm! Ok then, go on, find him!!!  Yet again, a sexist - who thinks only Nigerian men have fingers and capable of writing up our National Anthem.  It doesn't matter who wrote it man/woman.  If it was written by a Nigerian woman people like you would have protested - why a woman?  And now a foreigner, you shouting, why a foreigner?  And I say why not This egocentrism has to stop to enable Nigeria move on to the 21st Century as we are far too behind and immature in embracing avant-garde ideas.  Thank goodness the wise elders did then! And for those who felt it inappropriate, and changed our beautiful Anthem for the new - why stop at that then?  The people who wrote the Anthem (the Brits) also designed the flag can't you see that or were you blind to notice?  If Nigerians are capable of writing a sweet and emotional rendering (i.e. tears of joy, in your eyes ) kind of National Anthem and concentrate on Nigeria as a country without bringing on past colonial experiences that have been buried with time capsule - an excuse several governments have used as a stepping board in ruining our beautiful Nigeria, we won't be here arguing, ok!

oh wow, i LOVE this anthem! i didnt exist wen it was still being sung- its wayyyy older than me- but i made my dad teach me a few years back,  i even find myself singin it atimes sef, hehe.

Nigeria, we hail thee. . . 

the composer doesnt matter. . . its all about the lyrics. from the first lines alone,  Nigeria we hail thee gives a sense of patriotism. . . makes you swell with pride that you're Nigerian. Arise, o compatriots sounds like a call for battle. perhaps, corruption was relatively low during that era because the anthem taught them to put their beloved country before themselves (Nigeria was the very first word!). . . leaders ruled out of love for their country, not for personal gain.  Arise, o compatriots puts the citizen first. . . perhaps this accounts for the selfishness reflected all around us today.
my .02.

Theblessed:

Hmmm! Ok then, go on, find him!!! Yet again, a sexist - who thinks only Nigerian men have fingers and capable of writing up our National Anthem. It doesn't matter who wrote it man/woman. If it was written by a Nigerian woman people like you would have protested - why a woman? And now a foreigner, you shouting, why a foreigner? And

stop being a tata

Nigeria stopped being a British colony in 1960 why should we Nigerians hold on to words written for us by Brits. As I asked earlier, can't we find amongst the 140,000.000 Nigerians a man who can compose an anthem?

I'm pretty certain that he meant Nigerians generally and not just a man as you claim he did.
Truely, why can't we find just one person out of 140Million people?

As said earlier, I do not like the flag and anthem and music. It doesn't carry any patriotic message. How many people get the "hibidijibidies" while singing the anthem?

.

To be honest, Am seeing this lines for the first time though I have heard it being sang once or twice. Reading these lines almost brought tears to my eyes. the following lines especially. Please read them again:

1. Though tribe and tongue may differ,
In brotherhood we stand


2. Our flag shall be a symbol
That truth and justice reign,


3. To hand on to our children
A banner without stain.

4. O God of all creation,
Grant this our one request,
Help us to build a nation
Where no man is oppressed

For God's Sake, Can we have this anthem BACK?

I think our leaders have failed to realize that a nations anthem is almost like its Vision and Mission statement.

Please can we get rid of these ogboni drum beat called "arise oh compatriots" anthem

Both are fine, really. The lyrics are both suited to the feel and current situation of Nigeria.

For those who claim the new one is not relevant or doesn't capture the spirit of Nigeria (or, ), what do you say to the lines "Guide our leaders right; Help our youth the truth to know"? If that isn't the prayer most needed in Nigeria, one that mirrors the sentiment of Nigerians today, then I don't know what is.

NIGERIA WE HAIL THEE.

Dora if u want to rebrand nigeria bring back this anthem, Not ur stupid logo b'cos dis is wat we need '", a nation where no man is oppressed, With peace and plenty nigeria may be blessed'".

NIGERIA WE HAIL THEE.

Dora if u want to rebrand nigeria bring back this anthem, Not ur stupid logo b'cos dis is wat we need '", a nation where no man is oppressed, With peace and plenty nigeria may be blessed'".

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'd,
And this we count as gain,
To hand on to 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.

Its difficult to believe, but the National Anthem was changed because of that one offensive line. In a world where eminent Nigerians frequently refer to the country as "a mere geographical expression", the use of the word "tribe" and an admission of the fact that we "differ" could not be tolerated in the National Anthem.

Even a look at the first stanza speaks for itself
Arise O compatriot, I guess we are a sleeping nation and the alarm is still ringing
Vs
Nigeria we hail the, This is continous active, dont u feel this?

Initially Nigeria was referred to 'Motherland' now 'Fatherland' I see some gender preference.