The Nigerians national anthem of 1st October 1960 and that of 1978 which it was replaced with, could seen as an insight to the sufferings of its nationale in the present year and years to come. As a scholar I tried to compare the lyrics of the two anthems. The former was a song of praise which lauded Nigeria and praised it to glorious heights. The latter sounds more like a pleading song, praying to both God and the people to hear the call of our mother land. This, I take to be a significant insight to actually what we are facing now as a nation. We were hailed for our greatness, later we started to ask for help. Calling on our youths to know the truth. Which truth?,How the mighty has fallen.

Compare the two anthems and see form my own perspective. Remember it's all in the perception. I would rather hail than beg.
National anthem of 1st October 1960

Nigeria we hail thee,
Our own dear native land,
Though tribe and tongue may differ,
In brotherhood we stand,
Nigerians all, are 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.



That of 1978
Arise, O compatriots
Nigeria's call obey
to serve our fatherland
with love and strength and faith.
The labour of our heroes past
shall never be in vain,
to serve with heart and might
one nation bound in freedom
Peace and unity.
O God of creation,
direct our noble cause
Guide our leaders right
Help our youth the truth to know
In love and honesty to grow
And living just and true
Great lofty heights attain
To build a nation where peace
And justice reign.