Why I Accepted Renaming Of National Arts Theatre After Me- Soyinka

NOBEL laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Wednesday, October 1, explained why he accepted the renaming of the National Theatre, Lagos after him, adding he never believed the monument could ever be revamped.
Admitting he accepted the honour with mixed feelings, despite being a critic of many past leaders, who appropriated public monuments, Soyinka said: “I have to stand up in public and watch my name being put up as yet another appropriator.
“It just didn’t seem very well for me.”
Speaking at the reopening of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts (formerly National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos), the literary icon said he accepted to eat his words if only the turn-around of the complex is what he would get in return.
Soyinka recalled that before the renovation, he had at a point thought the edifice was irredeemable, but the Bankers’ Committee “made me eat my words.”
Soyinka recounted: “One of the reasons was I nearly electrocuted two of my actors. That is how they crept into my car. The roofs were leaking, so the pools of water were everywhere. And of course, there were electric wires also.
“One other reason is nostalgia. I remember this building when it was first erected, when we did it originally. I think we called it General’s Hat, because of the shape of the roof. There’s a constant re-conception, very little of what I call the African architectural intelligence in it.
“Then, there’s another reason why I thought I should accept. Well, I was already ambushed. They shaved my head behind me. I would have raised a squawk. But then, I decided this building belongs to me. It belongs to me.”
He commended the Committee, which committed N68billion into the project, for doing a great job by bringing the edifice to global standards, adding that with the recreation, Nigerians can now watch Africa Theatre at home instead of travelling abroad.
The Nation reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the occasion, directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to float a National Arts Theatre Endowment Fund to ensure its maintenance, promising to contribute to it.
President Tinubu said there was no controversy in the National Theatre being renamed, considering Soyinka’s contributions to the arts and culture, adding: “Prof. Wole Soyinka is one of the greatest assets of the world.
“So, the renaming could not have gone to anyone else.”
He urged Nigerians to stop talking negatively about the country, noting: “Let us all come together to rebuild Nigeria. The youth should also renew their hope in Nigeria and work together for its continued greatness.”
On his part, Cardoso stated: “The CBN, the Bankers’ Committee, Lagos State Government and Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy came together with a shared purpose to deliver this national project, with the Bankers’ Committee alone committing approximately N68billion, not as corporate social responsibility, but as a deliberate investment in Nigeria’s cultural future.”
He said the project stands as proof that when the public and private sectors unite behind a shared national purpose, there is no limit to what Nigeria can achieve.
Noting that 65 years after Nigeria’s founding, its creative spirit remains alive, pervasive and shaping global culture, adding: “This edifice has stood for nearly half a century as a proud symbol of our heritage.
“Completed in 1976 and inaugurated at FESTAC ’77, it became a beacon of African creativity and a repository of our shared history.”
The CBN boss explained that the Centre is more than a renovation; it is a rebirth, saying: “Its iconic silhouette has been preserved, while delivering world-class performance halls, cinema spaces, exhibition galleries, an African literature library, rehearsal rooms, media and medical facilities and fully modernised infrastructure.
“The surrounding grounds now offer gardens, outdoor exhibition areas, upgraded access and seamless integration with the Lagos Blue Line rail, placing culture at the heart of city life.”
Also present at the ceremony were the First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu; Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, who coordinated the Bankers’ Committee; Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa.