Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has explained why he agreed to have the National Theatre in Lagos renamed after him, despite his previous criticisms of renaming public monuments after individuals.
The iconic National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos, has now been officially renamed the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts by President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking at the reopening and re-dedication of the refurbished building, Soyinka reflected on his long-held opposition to 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,” he said.
“I accepted this honour with mixed feelings. First of all, I’m notorious for having criticised any appropriations. Personal appropriations of public monuments by some of our past leaders, which would end up that everything is named after them.
“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 pioneers such as Hubert Ogunde and Adam Fiberesima, Soyinka said he eventually reasoned that “somebody has to carry the can.”
The Nobel Laureate also shared a personal connection to the National Theatre, recalling its construction during the military era and its use during FESTAC ’77. However, he lamented how the building later deteriorated.
“I have another reason, which is nostalgia. I remember this building was first erected during the military regime. We had FESTAC ‘77 in this very hall. It’s a different hall completely, it’s nothing like what that building became over the years,” he said.
“Degraded to such an extent that when Lagos was celebrating its 50 years anniversary and we looked for a hub, a centre of activities which would take place elsewhere, one of the places we visited was here, which is now transformed.
“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.
“It was irredeemable. I said ‘it’s not just a desert, it was a slum’.”
Praising its new transformation, Soyinka concluded on a lighter note: “If eating one’s word produces a morsel like this, then it’s a very tasty set of words.”
