By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No fewer than 10,000 jobs are expected to be generated from the proposed restoration and upgrade of the iconic National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, made this disclosure on Sunday during the handing over of the facility to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’ Committee.
Business Post gathered that the transformation of the edifice and the adjoining 134-hectare fallow land at a value of N25 billion will last 18 months and would be done in two phases.
The first phase include the upgrade of the theatres (the main halls and cinema halls, conference and banquet halls, press hall and the bar); installation of new seats, upgrade of the sanitary facilities, installation of lifts, acoustics and specialist lightings, as well as replacement of the air conditioning, lighting and plumbing.
The second phase will involve the development of purpose-built clusters to provide world class facilities for Nigeria’s Creative Industry, with the clusters having four hubs: Fashion, Music, Film and Information and Technology (IT) hubs.
The creative clusters will be supported by other facilities, including multi-storey parking to accommodate 1,000 cars, a Visitors’ Welcome Centre which will house commercial and retail facilities, as well as administration and management offices.
At the formal handing over ceremony today, the Minister clarified that the National Theatre remains the property of Nigeria, noting that the CBN and its partners were only restoring the facility.
“Please permit me to start off by making a clarification: this iconic National Theatre remains a national heritage and will not be ceded to any person or group, as some have chosen to frame what we are doing here today.
“What we are here to do is to hand over the National Theatre for restoration and upgrade and the fallow land within the premises to the Central Bank and the Bankers’ Committee for development.
“The Federal Ministry of Information and Culture holds the keys to the National Theatre on behalf of all Nigerians,” he stated.
He further stressed that the project tagged the Lagos Creative and Entertainment Centre Project is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) that will have N7 billion spent for the first phase and N18 billion for the second phase, which will be mainly on adjoining fallow land.
“For over 40 years, no major renovation work has been done on the National Theatre, while the adjoining land has been lying fallow.
“Many attempts to restore the National Theatre have failed and the Government has no money to restore the complex.
“As you know, this is the hub of the Creative Industry in Nigeria.
“The National Theatre was established to encourage the advancement of the performing arts throughout the country; to create opportunities for performing artists of the country as well as to aid the promotion of social development and the improvement of the quality of life.
“In its present state, it is not living to its billing,” Mr Mohammed said.
The Minister, who described the ceremony as a ‘historic day in the annals of the Creative Industry in Nigeria,’ recalled that during its glory days, the National Theatre hosted all Nigerian state government functions and musical extravaganzas such as the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Roy Ayers, Skyy, Shalamar, Whispers, Third world and Dynasty; stage events like Wole Soyinka’s adaptation of D.O Fagunwa’s Langbodo and even Stevie Wonder, who received one of his numerous Grammy Awards at the National Theatre.
Present at the event were Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, his Deputy, Mr Obafemi Hamzat; the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare; the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele; the Chairman of the Committee of Banks’ CEOs, Mr Herbert Wigwe; and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Culture, Mrs Grace Isu Gekpe, among others.
