Would Soyinka Want The National Arts Theatre Renamed After Him?

 

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.

Hollywood icons gather to honour Legendary Actor Morgan Freeman

Legendary Actor Morgan Freeman

6 Jun 2011 21:26 Africa/Lagos


Clint Eastwood, Helen Mirren, Sidney Poitier, Mike Nichols, Matthew Broderick, Rita Moreno and Many More Among Those Honoring Legendary Actor Morgan Freeman at the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award Ceremony
Honor Takes Place At Historic Sony Pictures Studios Thursday, June 9, 2011 At 7:00 p.m.

Show Premieres On TV Land Sunday, June 19, 2011 At 9:00 p.m. ET/PT

PR Newswire

LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2011

LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AFI and TV Land announced today that Clint Eastwood, Helen Mirren, Sidney Poitier, Mike Nichols, Matthew Broderick and Rita Moreno are among the luminaries in film who will pay tribute to Morgan Freeman, the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award recipient. AFI will present its highest honor for a career in film to Freeman in Los Angeles on June 9 at Sony Pictures Studios. "TV Land Presents: The AFI Life Achievement Award Honoring Morgan Freeman" will air on TV Land on Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT .

Eastwood, Poitier and Nichols are all past AFI Life Achievement Award recipients.

Clint Eastwood, who received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1996, has worked with Morgan Freeman many times over the years with extraordinary results, in films such as "Unforgiven," the Oscar®-winning "Million Dollar Baby" and "Invictus."

Sidney Poitier is one of Freeman's biggest inspirations. In 1992, Freeman spoke at Poitier's AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony, where he said, "Every man has his own heaven and for me, heaven has always been being in the movies, and always in my heaven...I had one bright light...Sidney Poitier." Freeman will now share this accolade and a little slice of heaven with Poitier. Both actors took on the challenging task of playing former South African president, Nelson Mandela – Poitier in the television movie, "Mandela and de Klerk," and Freeman on the big screen in "Invictus."

Mike Nichols, who received the AFI Life Achievement Award last year, directed Freeman on Broadway in "The Country Girl" (2008).

Helen Mirren most recently worked with Freeman in the 2010 film, "Red," which also co-starred Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker.

Rita Moreno co-starred alongside Freeman in PBS's "The Electric Company," which was Freeman's breakout role in television. The highly regarded children's educational program won several Emmy® Awards during its broadcast run.

Matthew Broderick worked with Freeman in "Glory," which was directed by Ed Zwick, produced by Pieter Jan Brugge and edited by Steven Rosenblum – all three are AFI Conservatory alumni. Rosenblum will receive the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal, awarded annually to an alumnus of AFI who best embodies talent, taste, dedication and commitment to quality filmmaking, as part of the Freeman gala.

The black-tie event will take place on historic Stage 15 at Sony Pictures Studios, where "The Wizard of Oz," "Grand Hotel," "Spiderman" and other classic movies were filmed. The stage will be transformed into an elegant ballroom to honor the storied career of Morgan Freeman. Proceeds from the AFI Life Achievement Award Gala directly support the Institute's national educational programs and the preservation of American film history.

About the American Film Institute

AFI is America's promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work, and to educate the next generation of storytellers. AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is dedicated to initiatives that engage the past, the present and the future of the moving image arts.

AFI preserves the legacy of America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films , an authoritative record of American films from 1893 to the present, and the AFI Archive, which contains rare footage from across the history of the moving image.

AFI honors the artists and their work through a variety of annual programs and special events, including the AFI Life Achievement Award and AFI Awards. For 39 years, the AFI Life Achievement Award has remained the highest honor for a career in film while AFI Awards, the Institute's almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year. AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies television events and movie reference lists, as well as AFI Night at the Movies, have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers. And as the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the United States, AFI offers film enthusiasts a variety of events throughout the year, including AFI Fest presented by Audi, the longest running international film festival in Los Angeles; AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs, the largest documentary festival in the US; and year-round programming at the AFI Silver Theatre in the Washington, DC area.

AFI educates the next generation of storytellers at its world-renowned AFI Conservatory, offering a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. AFI also explores new digital technologies through special workshops.

Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.

About the AFI Life Achievement Award

The highest honor given for a career in film, the AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the AFI Board of Trustees on February 26, 1973. It is presented to a single honoree each year based on the following criteria as mandated through a resolution passed by the AFI Board of Trustees: "The recipient should be one whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time."

2011 AFI Life Achievement Award honoree Morgan Freeman joins an esteemed group of individuals who have been chosen for this distinguished honor since its inception in 1973: John Ford (1973), James Cagney (1974), Orson Welles (1975), William Wyler (1976), Bette Davis (1977), Henry Fonda (1978), Alfred Hitchcock (1979), James Stewart (1980), Fred Astaire (1981), Frank Capra (1982), John Huston (1983), Lillian Gish (1984), Gene Kelly (1985), Billy Wilder (1986), Barbara Stanwyck (1987), Jack Lemmon (1988), Gregory Peck (1989), Sir David Lean (1990), Kirk Douglas (1991), Sidney Poitier (1992), Elizabeth Taylor (1993), Jack Nicholson (1994), Steven Spielberg (1995), Clint Eastwood (1996), Martin Scorsese (1997), Robert Wise (1998), Dustin Hoffman (1999), Harrison Ford (2000), Barbra Streisand (2001), Tom Hanks (2002), Robert De Niro (2003), Meryl Streep (2004), George Lucas (2005), Sean Connery (2006), Al Pacino (2007), Warren Beatty (2008), Michael Douglas (2009) and Mike Nichols (2010).

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