Would Soyinka Want The National Theatre Renamed After Him?
Would Soyinka want the National Theatre renamed after him?
No.
Prof. Wole Soyinka, the first African Nobel Laureate in Literature would not want the National Theatre of Nigeria to be renamed as the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts by the Federal Government.
It was the breaking news on Friday, July 13, to celebrate the 90th birthday of Soyinka.
The National Theatre is the epicentre for the performing arts in Nigeria; the national monument located in Lagos was constructed by the military administration of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo in 1976 for the first Black Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in 1977.
The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, must understand that the status of a national monument is higher than the status of any citizen of the nation.
The British government has not renamed their national monument, The Royal Opera House (ROH), the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House after any of the British Nobel laureates or great actors and authors knighted for their achievements in the literary arts, motion picture and theatre arts no matter the magnitude of their status in the world. The same national status of national monument is accorded the British Museum.
There are national theatres in different countries in the world, including the National Theatre of Scotland and the famous Abbey Theatre, founded by WB Yeats is the national theatre of Ireland and has not been renamed after the great George Bernard Shaw or WB Yeats, the founder who were both Nobel laureates in literature.
The National Theatre and the National Museum should remain what they are as national monuments of Nigerian arts, culture and history.
The Nigerian government should establish the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts at the National Theatre. And Soyinka will not disagree with me. He knows the symbolic importance of the national monument and was outspoken against the scandalous sale of the National Theatre to a United Arab Emirates conglomerate in 2014 by the Federal Government.
"You can liken this to a horrendous fate suffered by the black race, pauperised and victimised by public office holders who transform power into an instrument of repression and oppression," he said.
"Privatisation of the theatre can go haywire and I'm totally against it."
Soyinka is a national treasure of indisputable international status for his great achievements as a creative genius in contemporary art and human rights activism and a lionized scholar who is the author of critically acclaimed books for public enlightenment and academic scholarship. He deserves to be celebrated as President Tinubu said:
“We do not only celebrate Soyinka’s remarkable literary achievements but also his unwavering dedication to the values of human dignity and justice. Professor Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Literature Prize in 1986, deserves all the accolades as he marks the milestone of 90 years on earth”.
The federal government can also establish a new university in the name of Prof. Wole Soyinka.
- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Author of "The Prophet Lied" and other books distributed by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.
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