Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka on Tuesday delivered the keynote speech at the unveiling of the renovated National Arts Theatre in Lagos, saying he accepted the honour of having the hall named after him “with mixed feelings” but ultimately out of respect for Nigeria’s theatre heritage and those who built it.
Addressing an audience of government officials, royals, colleagues and students, Soyinka said:
“Your team, all of whom conspired for this evening, Mrs. President, Your Royal Highnesses, chosen to honour me with your presence this evening, my colleagues, my students, my teachers, some of them absent, let me begin by saying that I bring you greetings from Abu Dhabi, from where I’ve just, more or less just arrived, from a festival of African theatre.”
The Nobel Laureate confessed that his initial reaction to the naming was discomfort.
“Let me begin by confessing, and I think you know this, that I accepted this honour with mixed feelings. First of all, for having criticised so many appropriations, personal appropriations, of public monuments by some of our past leaders.”
He added “I think I would, at a modest, even generous estimate, say that about 25% of monuments, whether they’re buildings, roads in particular in this country, or whatever, institutions, are well and truly deserved. Having been guilty of saying that 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 sit very well on me.”
Soyinka recalled publicly confronting a past leader in Abuja over naming a major route after “one of the most brutal and venal rulers we’ve ever had in this country,” noting that the official “just looked at me and smiled, and went on with his own business.”
However, reflecting on Nigeria’s theatre pioneers convinced him to accept the honour.
“By the time I looked at the history of theatre in this country, and I think of my predecessors…the very little known and recognised and celebrated opera composers…by the time I looked at all of them, I said, well, somebody has to carry the can. And if a group of bankers got together, using some of my money also, I bank with them after all, in order to honour me, what’s wrong with that? I said to accept it.”
He also admitted to nostalgia.
“I remember this building when it was first erected during a military regime. I think we called it the General’s Hat because of the shape of the roof. Of course, in the conception, very little of what I call the African architectural intelligence was in it. It was an uprooted structure…ImThat’s how this building came to be. Still, we said, we’ll manage it, and we had first FESTAC ’77 in this very hall. This very hall is a different hall, completely.”
Soyinka described the theatre’s decline into a “slum” and how he once advised Lagos officials to “get somebody secretly, plant a bomb, blow it up” rather than attempt renovation.
“These bankers have got together to make me eat my words. If eating one’s words produces emotion like this, then it’s a very tasty set of words. And I want to thank you and congratulate you for doing what I considered and pronounced impossible.”
He recalled near-tragedies that deepened his sense of ownership of the building:
“This building owes me. One of the reasons, one of the debts, was that this building nearly electrocuted two of my actors. The roofs were leaking, so there were pools of water everywhere. And I nearly lost two of my performers here when we came to perform Camwood on the Leaves.”
He said earlier protests by artists over attempts by businessmen to take over the theatre may also have spurred the bankers who renovated it.
“So, having thrown out that challenge, and having it picked up, I decided, yeah, I’m owed. I’ll accept it. But, the greatest reason, however, was a very personal one.
“Over the years, I’ve discovered that I’m not really real. And I’m a bit of a dramatic creation by some anonymous artists.
“If I speak, it’s drama. If I don’t, then other people say it’s drama. I mean, how many of you here can claim to be kidnapped at 91 when going to a theatre festival? So, that’s another unique factor. So, I think these bankers did some research, looked around and said, you know, this character is really a dramatic piece of work himself. Let’s name it after him.”
He added that future generations of artists would find inspiration simply from the hall’s name.
“If the theatre dries off, if these writers, directors, choreographers and so on, run dry, all they have to do is say, look at that name. Go and create some theatre around it. After all, it’s one thing you can, it doesn’t cost any money for you personally, your name. It’s already given to you. So, if people want to borrow it, even without paying royalties, it’s okay. They can have it.”
Closing his speech, Soyinka thanked the government and the consortium behind the renovation and urged future users of the hall to remember the legacy of African theatre.
“Finally, and in all seriousness, I want to thank you for this honour. Those of you who have been involved in it, including your president, who is a great conspirator. This netted yet another victim, and I want to thank him.
“And for all those who will be using this hall, let me remind you that I merely represent the preoccupation, the commitment of others. And my hope is that with the re-creation of this building, this institution, we won’t be going all the way to Abu Dhabi to watch African theatre,” he concluded.
Boluwatife Enome
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