The Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, has said the new National Anthem is a symbol of Nigerians’ allegiance and loyalty to the country.

Mr Issa-Onilu stated this in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Saturday while speaking to journalists on some key programmes currently being implemented by the agency.

The NOA DG applauded President Bola Tinubu for signing the new National Anthem Law, saying that the anthem contained better lyrics and more meaning.

“It is more impactful, more meaningful and capable of uniting Nigerians more,” he said.

He said that the new anthem not only brought back sense of patriotism and nationalism, but evoked the consciousness of Nigerians

“The national anthem that we had in 1960 resonates more in comparison to the one we just changed. The lyrics are more impactful and more meaningful than the one that we just dumped. That is the real reason for going back to that,” he said.

Mr Issa-Onilu noted that the national anthem was part of the values of a country, which should make the citizens to appreciate one another.

He said the agency would soon begin the process of fashioning out a proper and acceptable way of rendering the anthem.

“The national anthem must be officially rendered. Everyone should know the official rendition of the anthem, the process will begin soon. We are going to call for entries from musicians and others. This is an opportunity for us to have a national anthem that we can all connect with.

“Can we put together our local instruments and produce a very beautiful rendition? These are the things we are looking at,” he said.

The DG urged Nigerians to remain steadfast in supporting the policies and programmes of the current administration to ensure better service delivery.

He said that although Nigerians were facing hardship, every policy being implemented by the current administration was in the interest of the nation.

(NAN)