The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has given its staff a three-day ultimatum to learn how to correctly recite the new national anthem.
The agency specifically noted that all its Community Orientation and Mobilization Officers in the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across the country have until Monday, June 3, 2024, to know how to recite the anthem.
This came barely 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu signed the National Anthem Bill 2024 into law on Tuesday 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.
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A statement by the spokesperson of the agency, Paul Odenyi, quoted Issa-Onilu as saying that the National Anthem is part of the national identity project being pursued to promote national cohesion, unity, and a sense of patriotism.
“The Community Orientation and Mobilization 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, programs, and activities.” The statement said.
According to the DG, the NOA is also working closely with the National Union of Teachers (NUT) to ensure that schools across the country are mobilized to start using the current National Anthem.
“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.
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“We urged all community officers to take this directive seriously and to make every effort to learn the new national anthem by the specified deadline. You would be the grassroots marshals for the implementation of this new policy of government.”
“NOA, as the custodian of the nation’s symbols, has the mandate to promote and preserve the integrity of all national icons, including the national anthem.” The statement said.