Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has opened up on why he accepted the renaming of the National Theatre, Lagos, after him.
The 91-year-old spoke on Wednesday night at the reopening of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts (formerly National Arts Theatre, Iganmu).
According to him, he never believed the monument could ever be revamped.
“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,” Soyinka said, admitting that he accepted the honour with mixed feelings despite being a critic of past leaders who appropriated public monuments.
He, however, noted that he would accept eating his words if the monumental turnaround of the theatre complex was what he would get in return.
Before the renovation, Soyinka said he thought the edifice was irredeemable, but the Bankers’ Committee “made me eat my words.”
He commended the committee for bringing the facility to global standards, adding that Nigerians can now watch African theatre at home instead of travelling abroad.
The Bankers’ Committee committed N68 billion to the project.
President Bola Tinubu, at the reopening, directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to float a National Arts Theatre Endowment Fund to ensure sustainable maintenance of the national edifice.
Soyinka recalled how deplorable the facility once was.
“And 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,” he said.
He also spoke about his nostalgic connection with the theatre.
“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,” he said.
Explaining further, Soyinka added: “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.”
Dignitaries at the event included First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Hannatu Musawa.
The National Theatre, built in 1976 ahead of FESTAC ’77, had long suffered neglect before the N68 billion revamp by the Bankers’ Committee. The upgraded facility now has modern electrical, water, and safety systems, alongside improved performance spaces and access via the Lagos Blue Line rail.
Musawa described the reopening as a “turning point for Nigeria’s cultural and creative destiny,” while Sanwo-Olu hailed it as the “rebirth of a national icon.”