Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka said he accepted the renaming of the National Theatre in Lagos after him with mixed emotions, while commending its remarkable rebirth.
Soyinka spoke on Wednesday during the reopening and rededication of the refurbished building, now named the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, event that coincided with Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day celebrations.
The theatre was renamed in July 2024 by the Bola Tinubu-led administration and has since undergone extensive renovation.
Addressing guests at the ceremony, Soyinka acknowledged his longstanding opposition to the practice of naming public monuments after individuals, a trend he had often criticised.
“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.
The playwright explained that he accepted the honour reluctantly, describing it as “mixed feelings,” but admitted that the scale of the theatre’s transformation convinced him to embrace it.
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“Personal appropriations of public monuments by some of our past leaders, which would end up that everything is named after them, have always troubled me,” he said, stressing that only a fraction of such dedications in Nigeria are truly deserved.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s cultural history, Soyinka paid tribute to theatre pioneers such as Hubert Ogunde and opera composer Adam Fiberesima, adding that “somebody has to carry the can” in sustaining their legacy.
He recalled the theatre’s glory days during FESTAC ’77, its rapid decline over the decades, and his own frustration at its condition during Lagos’ 50th anniversary celebrations. At the time, he described the building as “irredeemable,” even joking that it should be demolished.
Soyinka expressed delight at the current refurbishment, describing it as a complete rebirth of the once-neglected monument.
“If eating one’s word produces a morsel like this, then it’s a very tasty set of words,” he remarked with a smile.
The reopening marked not only the preservation of a cultural landmark but also Soyinka’s reconciliation with a tribute he once resisted, underscoring the enduring symbolic power of the National Theatre in Nigeria’s cultural identity.
Crediblenewsng.com
