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To correctly recite the newly signed into law National Anthem, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has issued a directive to all Community Orientation and Mobilization Officers in the 774 Local Governments to commit it to memory by Monday, June 3, 2024.
President Bola Tinubu had on Wednesday signed the National Anthem Bill 2024 into law.
The Bill now Act, seeks to reinstate the old anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”
The Director General of NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, gave the directive on Thursday as part of the Agency's efforts to ensure a seamless transition to the new National Anthem.
According to a statement by the Deputy Director, Press, Paul Odenyi, the DG noted that the National Anthem is part of the national identity project being pursued to promote national cohesion, unity and a sense of patriotism.
The statement said the Community Orientation and Mobilisation Officers (COMOS) are the Agency's lead Officers in the local governments whose roles are primarily to enlighten citizens at the grassroots level of government policies, programmes and activities.
It disclosed that the NOA is also working closely with the National Union of Teachers (NUT) to ensure that schools across the country are mobilised to start using the current National Anthem.
The DG NOA said "We are excited to embark on this new chapter in our national history.
"We believe that this new National Anthem will inspire a sense of pride and unity among Nigerians, and we are committed to ensuring that every citizen has access to it." he stated
The NOA DG in the circular also urged all Community Officers to take this directive seriously and to make every effort to learn the new National Anthem by the specified deadline, adding "as you would be the grassroots marshals for the implementation of this new policy of government"
NOA as the custodian of the nation's symbols, the statement said, has the mandate to promote and preserve the integrity of all national icons including the national anthem.