General Manager of the National Theatre, Tola Akerele, has revealed how the newly reopened Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts will be sustained.
The edifice, formerly the National Theatre, was inaugurated on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day, after years of renovation funded by the Bankers’ Committee, Lagos State Government and the federal government.
Ms Akerele said the reopening signalled a new era for Nigerian creatives and cultural practitioners. She added that President Tinubu’s decision to rename the monument after Professor Wole Soyinka sends a powerful message about the value placed on cultural heritage and the people who create it.
According to her, the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee have set an important precedent, showing that culture is central to development. “When you build capacity in the creative sector, you create jobs, empower young people and position Nigeria to compete globally,” she said.
On the sustainability model, she explained that the focus must be on capacity building, creating pathways for artists to elevate their crafts and developing infrastructure that enables Nigerian creativity to compete globally. Engaging and empowering young creatives will be central to this mission. “This facility gives us physical space. Now we must build the systems, partnerships, and programs that turn space into sustainable opportunity,” she added.
Disun Holloway, Chairperson of Theatre Partners Limited, expressed optimism, saying the centre will continue to inspire generations, nurture talent and remind Nigerians that the nation is richest when it draws from the well of its culture.
The renovated facility now boasts world-class audiovisual technology, modern safety systems, and upgraded performance spaces.
The National Theatre, completed in 1976 and the venue for FESTAC ’77, had fallen into disrepair before renovations began in 2020. In July 2024, President Tinubu renamed it in honour of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka.
At the reopening, Tinubu called for an endowment fund for the centre, while CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso disclosed that the Bankers’ Committee had committed about N68 billion, describing it as a deliberate investment in Nigeria’s cultural future.
Prof Soyinka, who initially resisted the renaming, said he accepted after seeing the transformation. “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… Then I decided this building belongs to me. It belongs to me,” he said.