For decades, Frances Berda has been touted as the composer of the re-adopted anthem, ‘Nigeria We Hail Thee’, and Lillian Jean Williams as the author of the lyrics.
However, news archives shared by Tolu Ogunlesi, an aide to former President Muhammadu Buhari, on his Page
On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu signed into law the law adopting Nigeria’s anthem, We Hail Thee, as the new anthem.
According to a January 1959 report published in the Federal Nigeria newspaper, the National Independence Planning Committee launched a competition to select a National Anthem to commemorate independence on October 1, 1960.
A prize of $280 was announced for anyone who wrote a National Anthem that expressed the spirit of a free and independent Nigeria among the countries of the world.
The excerpts read: “Nigerians and non-Nigerians within and outside Nigeria are invited to express this spirit in words (the musical setting of the verses will be the subject of another study) of not more than three verses of six lines each in English. advertisement). Registration deadline: March 31, 1959.”
Entries were to be sent to the Independence Celebrations Officer, c/o Ministry of Home Affairs in Lagos State.
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The files showed entries from many countries, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Ghana, French Cameroon, Senegal, Algeria, Cyprus, South Africa and Belgium.
Furthermore, the entries, which were mandatory to express the spirit of a free and independent Nigeria, were to consist of three verses of six lines each.
After a worldwide competition for a poem for the national anthem, Lillian Jean Williams (a British official at the Federal Ministry of Labor and Welfare) was declared the winner.
He won £100 and donated the money to the Nigerian Red Cross.
Guidelines 3693 entries
After Williams’ ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’ was selected, a competition was opened for the anthem’s music.
According to the archives, 3,693 nominations were received from around the world to be considered for the music that will accompany the lyrics of ‘Nigeria We Hail Thee’.
Nominations were received from as far afield as British Guiana, Malta, Canada and Australia.
The files further claimed that the Nigerian government offered a prize of £1,000 ($2,800) for the music of a National Anthem.
For registration, the same melody was required for each of the three stanzas of the National Anthem and it had to fit the lyrics of each stanza.
“Each work must consist of a complete piano score. No registrations will be returned and the federal government will retain the copyright of the composition selected as the National Anthem.
“Entries should be sent to ‘The Independence Celebrations Officer, 34/36 Ikoyi Road, Lagos, Nigeria, and mark “National Anthem” on the outer cover. Registrations will be acknowledged and the deadline for receipt is November 30, 1959,” the files reveal.
Around the same time, the federal government launched four competitions in 1959, namely, National Flag – Open only to Nigerians, National Anthem (lyrics) – Nigerians and foreigners, National Anthem (music) – Nigerians and foreigners and Independence Seals.
Frances Benda’s Winning Composition of ‘Nigeria We Hail Thee’ Plot Twist
After successful entries were received, Miss Frances Benda of London, and not Frances Berda as has been widely reported, was the winner of the star prize of £1000.
However, Frances Benda was her pseudonym and her real name was Mrs. Charles Kernot.
She was described as a private music teacher and professional pianist at the Carol Hill School of Classical Ballet in London.
A panel of six Nigerian judges (Fela Sowande, O. Omideyi, TKE Philips, WC Echazona, MC Majekodunmi and H. Lawson) selected their winning entry.
Announcement of the National Flag contest