President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Olayemi Cardoso to float National Arts Theatre Endowment Fund that would ensure continuous maintenance of the national edifice.
The President spoke yesterday during the opening and rededication of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture & Creative Arts (National Arts Theatre) held in Lagos.
He promised to contribute to the fund to ensure the edifice is continuously maintained.
The event was attended by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Honourable Minister of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa and other dignitaries.
President Tinubu said there was no controversy in the National Theatre renaming Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture & Creative Arts, adding that he considered Prof. Wole Soyinka’s contributions to the arts and culture.
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“Prof. Wole Soyinka is one of the greatest assets of the world. So, the renaming could not have gone to anyone else,” he said.
President Tinubu advised that Nigerians stop talking about Nigeria in a negative way. “Let us all come together to rebuild Nigeria. The youths should also renew their hope in Nigeria and work together for her continued greatness,” he said.
Also speaking, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso said the Bankers Committee committed N68 billion into the remodeling of the National Arts Theatre.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria, the Bankers’ Committee, the Lagos State Government, and the Ministry of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy came together with a shared purpose to deliver this national project, with the Bankers’ Committee alone committing approximately N68 billion, not as corporate social responsibility but as a deliberate investment in Nigeria’s cultural future,” Cardoso said.
He said that the project stands as proof that when the public and private sectors unite behind a shared national purpose, there is no limit to what Nigeria can achieve.
He disclosed that 65 years after our nation’s founding, Nigeria’s creative spirit remains alive, pervasive, and shaping global culture.
“This edifice has stood for nearly half a century as a proud symbol of our heritage. Completed in 1976 and inaugurated at FESTAC ’77, it became a beacon of African creativity and a repository of our shared history,” he said.
He said that in 2020, the Federal Government approved a landmark public–private collaboration: the transfer of the Theatre and its estate into a special partnership with the Central Bank, on behalf of the Bankers’ Committee.
“What began as an ambitious vision to reimagine an aging monument as a world-class creative hub has today become a stunning reality. The journey was not without challenges. Structural complexities, contractual issues, and even the global pandemic extended the timeline far beyond expectations,” he said.
“ This was a project especially close to the President’s heart, and it was his vision that transformed it from a restoration into a symbol of national renewal. By renaming the National Arts Theatre as the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in July 2024, President Tinubu charted a bold course to place creativity at the heart of Nigeria’s renaissance,” he said.
Cardoso explained that the Wole Soyinka Centre is more than a renovation; it is a rebirth.
“Its iconic silhouette has been preserved while delivering world-class performance halls, cinema spaces, exhibition galleries, an African literature library, rehearsal rooms, media and medical facilities, and fully modernised infrastructure. The surrounding grounds now offer gardens, outdoor exhibition areas, upgraded access, and seamless integration with the Lagos Blue Line rail, placing culture at the heart of city life,” he said.
Nobel Laurette, Prof. Wole Soyinka, said that before the renovation of the edifice, he thought it was irredeemable but the Bankers’ Committee made me to eat my words.
He said the Bankers’ Committee had done a great job, and brought the edifice to global standards.
He said that with the recreation of the edifice, Nigerians can now watch Africa Theatre at home instead of travelling abroad,” he said.