Premium News
RE-ADOPTED OLD NATIONAL ANTHEM PRODUCED BY TWO BRITISH WOMEN
A British expatriate, Lillian Jean Williams, who lived in Nigeria when it achieved independence in 1960, wrote the now readopted Nigerian National Anthem’s lyrics in 1959, while Frances Berda, another Briton, composed the music around the same period.
The federal government had during that time launched a contest to compose an anthem, offering a prize of £1,000, which Ms Berda, a ballet musician, won.
Also, Ms Willians won a separate prize for writing the anthem’s lyrics.
Ezekiel Mphahlele, the famous South African literary icon, while detailing the intrigues behind the adoption of ‘Nigeria We Hail Thee’ as an anthem in an article titled ‘Nigeria on the Eve of Independence in Africa Today’ published in September 1960, revealed that Nigerians criticised the choice of both women as the authors and composers of the anthems.
Mr Mphahlele’s article partly said, “In the name of independence, the winning entries should have been chosen from the 500 entries that came from Nigerians themselves. Others again argued that the music should have been composed first and then the lyrics fitted to it instead of the other way round.”
The anthem was eventually adopted and used on 1 October 1960 to celebrate Nigeria’s independence.
‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee” only survived 18 years as it was abandoned in 1978, and ceased to be Nigeria’s official national anthem before its re-adoption on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, by President Bola Tinubu.
