“Nigeria, We Hail Thee”: List of Top 5 National Anthems in the World Emerges
- The list of the top five ranked countries with the best national anthems in the world has emerged
- ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika of South Africa, God Save the King of the United Kingdom and ‘O Canada’ of Canada made the list
- The other two are The Star-Spangled Banner of the United States of America and La Marseillaise of France
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro and government policy
“Nigeria, we hail thee,” the reintroduced national anthem, has been the subject of national discussion since it was passed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The national anthem is meant to foster unity while capturing Nigeria's history and traditions.
Source: Getty Images
In this article, Legit.ng focuses on the top-ranked national anthems in the world. according to Vanguard.
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La Marseillaise (France)
“La Marseillaise” was composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle on April 24, 1792.
The amateur musician birthed the anthem during the French Revolution.
Rouget de Lisle was also the captain of the engineers.
The national convention adopted La Marseillaise” as the French national anthem in 1975.
God Save the King (United Kingdom)
The United Kingdom’s national anthem was first publicly performed in London in 1745.
The words and tune of one of the oldest in the world are anonymous in the seventeenth century.
The title changed to “God Save the King” to reflect the reigning monarch, King Charles’ from “God Save the Queen” during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign from 1953 to 2022.
‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (South Africa)
The anthem was taken from five of South Africa’s official languages, Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English.
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It is a combination of new English lyrics with excerpts from the 19th-century hymn “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” (Lord, Bless Africa)’ and the Afrikaans song “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (The Call of South Africa).
A Methodist mission school teacher, Enoch Sontonga, composed Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika in 1897.
CJ Langenhoven wrote the poem, Die Stem van Suid-Afrika” in May 1918, while the music was composed by the Reverend ML de Villiers in 1921.
The Star-Spangled Banner (USA)
A lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, wrote the the star-spangled banner in 1814.
Key composed the poem about the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812, an event he witnessed while aboard a British ship.
‘O Canada’ – Canada
“O Canada” was first performed in 1880.
The music was composed by Calixa Lavallée and Adolphe-Basile Routhier wrote the French lyrics.
It was later proclaimed as Canada’s national anthem a century later in 1980.
Canada's national anthem is often mixed up with English and French lyrics to represent the country's linguistic duality, The Telegraph reports.
The English lyrics adopted in 1980 are derived from a version penned by Robert Stanley Weir in 1908.
Tinubu's govt approved the lyrics of the reintroduced national anthem
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the National Orientation Agency unveiled the standardised version of the reintroduced national anthem, ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’.
The DG of NOA, Lanre Issa-Onilu, unveiled the approved lyrics of the new national anthem on Wednesday in Abuja and tasked Nigerians to pay attention to the words of the anthem.
Legit.ng reported that the old anthem was composed by British expatriate, Lillian Jean Williams. The country used it from 1960 to 1978.
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