By Charles Pemu Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has stated that he accepted the renaming of the National Theatre in Lagos after him with “mixed emotions,“ reflecting on his long-standing public opposition to the appropriation of public monuments by individuals in Nigeria.
The National Theatre, located in Iganmu, Lagos, was recently renamed the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts by President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking at the refurbished building’s reopening and re-dedication, the playwright admitted he felt “guilty” for watching his name be put up as “yet another appropriator” after years of criticizing the practice.
“I have been guilty of saying other people do not merit this kind of monumental dedication, and then I had to stand up in public and watch my name being put up as yet another appropriator. It just didn’t seem well with me,” Soyinka confessed.
He maintained his earlier stance, stating, “I’ll be modest, given the general estimate, to say that about 25 percent of monuments, whether they are buildings or roads in particular in this country, are well and truly deserved.”
Reflecting on Nigerian theatre history and the decline of the building, Soyinka ultimately concluded that “somebody has to carry the can.”
He shared a powerful sense of nostalgia for the theatre, recalling its original construction during the military era and its significance during FESTAC ’77. However, he lamented the building’s severe degradation over the years.
Soyinka vividly recalled visiting the site during Lagos’ 50th-anniversary celebration, describing its state as “irredeemable” and “like a slum.“
“I took one look at it and when the governor and his team wanted to come back to take a second look, I said you go without me. I said I would advise you, get somebody secretly, plant a bomb, and blow it up,” he recounted.
He ended by praising the spectacular transformation of the building, saying: “If eating one’s word produces a morsel like this, then it’s a very tasty set of words.”