The Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, formerly known as the National Arts Theatre, is a vibrant creative hub. It offers performance halls, cinemas, exhibition galleries, an African literature library, rehearsal spaces, media and medical facilities, and more.
Once famed as one of Africa’s finest and largest theatres and a Nigerian arts landmark, the centre steadily declined over the years, losing its shape and appearance.
In response to this decline, the later years saw intervention from both the government and the private sector. Their efforts transformed the Wole Soyinka Center for Culture and Creative Arts, featuring modernised infrastructure to establish it as a hub for global events and investment.
Located in the Iganmu Area of Lagos, the National Theatre was inspired by Bulgaria’s Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna. It was established in 1968 under the rule of General Yakubu Gowon and completed in 1976 by the administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo.
Interestingly, with the completion of the project, the centre hosted the 2nd World Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC), an event that drew more than 10,000 participants from various African countries and beyond to celebrate Black and African arts and culture.
The Theatre was a fine place for playwrights, dramatists, and literary enthusiasts. It hosted renowned performers including Pa Hubert Ogunde, Pa Julius Araba, and Slinger Francisco (the Mighty Sparrow). During FESTAC 77, Mighty Sparrow wrote and recorded a Yoruba song, “Duduyemi” (“Black Beauty”), out of love for the National Theatre.
The National Theatre also hosted South Africa’s Miriam Makeba and Ipi Tombi, Ghana’s Osibisa, Liberia’s Miatta Fahnbulleh, Congo Zaire’s Le Grand Maître Franco Luambo Makiadi and OK Jazz, USA’s Dynasty, Brothers Johnson, Shalamar, Lakeside, Skyy, Kool & The Gang, and Stevie Wonder.
Others hosted by the Theatre included Tony Benson, Femi Kuti, Musical Youths, Ireti, Baba Suwe, and Burna Boy, among others.
The Theatre flourished as a premier venue for artistic productions and exhibitions until its decline, triggered by digital disruption and governmental neglect, reducing it to a rental space for ceremonies such as weddings.
With an auditorium, a conference/banquet hall, exhibition halls, cinema halls, an art gallery, and a VIP lounge, the National Theatre was said to have been four times bigger than the Palace of Sports and Culture in Varna.
Over time, the monument deteriorated severely, with leaking roofs, broken air conditioning, unclean toilets, frequent power outages, and a decline in artistic activity.
The Theatre’s downfall was mainly due to inadequate funding, bureaucratic hurdles, and the rise of the film industry, all of which substantially eroded its role as a creative center, rendering it a shadow of its former self.
In 2001, the government of Olusegun Obasanjo had a plan to privatize the National Theatre, but it was met with vehement rejection and fierce condemnation from literary icons.
Nigeria’s Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, was one of the prominent figures who criticised the attempt.
He said, “You can liken this to a horrendous fate suffered by the black race, pauperised and victimised by public office holders who transform power into an instrument of repression and oppression.”
“Privatisation of the theatre can go haywire and I’m totally against it.”
There were also protests against the government’s decision to privatise the national monument.
For example, many artistes under the aegis of different associations and guilds such as the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), Committee For Relevant Art (CORA), Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), Association of Nigerian Theatre Artistes (ANTP), Guild of Nigerian Dancers (GOND) staged peaceful protests, calling on government to stop its plans, citing that it was not in the interest of the country.
The protests led to government silence and the appointment of Professor Ahmed Yerima as General Manager, who rehabilitated the building and revived it.
The push for the privatisation resurfaced in 2007, but the storm somehow died down after a while, following a series of protests and demonstrations against the idea.
After years of neglect, the government turned to restoring the National Theatre. In October 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari approved its reconstruction to boost the creative sector and attract investment.
On February 14, 2021, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Bankers’ Committee and the Ministry of Information and Culture on the Investment plan to revive the National Theatre and build a new creative city at Iganmu, Lagos, was signed.
According to the then-Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, the project, when completed, would generate approximately 25,000 jobs.
In July 2021, the Bankers’ Committee and CBN pledged ₦65 billion to restore the National Theatre. Their goal was to unlock Nigeria’s creative economy.
The project upgraded auditoriums, banquet and exhibition halls, and added new facilities, including security systems and new toilet cubicles. Four creative hubs for music, film, fashion, and IT were added.
New features included VIP spaces, a fire station, clinic, lobbies, advanced lighting and audio systems, solar power, and new HVAC systems.
Speaking on the restoration work, Prof. Duro Oni, a former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos and an advocate for cultural economics, noted that while physical restoration was important, it, however, could not secure the Theatre’s future.
In a piece titled Nigeria’s National Theatre: A Cultural Beacon at a Crossroads, Prof. Duro Oni wrote, “While physical restoration is promising, it alone cannot secure the theatre’s future.” Sustainability demands more than infrastructure – it requires strategic policy frameworks that prioritise cultural investment as an economic imperative.”
“Countries like India, South Korea, and Brazil have successfully leveraged their arts industries for national branding and global recognition; Nigeria must do the same by integrating its creative sector into broader development strategies.”
“Diversified funding models are crucial for long-term viability. Leading cultural institutions worldwide thrive on balanced revenue streams from ticket sales, private partnerships, philanthropic support, grants, and endowments, rather than solely relying on government budgets that are prone to unpredictability or neglect. Public-private collaborations, such as those spearheaded by the Bankers’ Committee and the CBN, offer hope but must be institutionalized for lasting impact.”
“The National Theatre stands as a symbol of what is possible. Art is not a luxury; it is key to national development. Its revival lets Nigeria reclaim status as a cultural powerhouse by treating creativity as both heritage preservation and economic strategy.”
“The National Theatre remains a potent emblem of what is possible – a reminder that art is not a luxury but a necessity for national development. Its revival offers Nigeria an opportunity to reclaim its place as a cultural powerhouse by treating creativity as both a means of heritage preservation and an economic strategy.
“Will this restoration mark a turning point or another fleeting attempt at reviving nostalgia? The answer lies in sustained commitment, not just to restoring walls but to nurturing stories that inspire generations and elevate Nigeria on the global stage.
“The fate of the National Theatre reflects our values as a nation. Our choice to invest in our creativity or resign ourselves to indifference will determine if this monument rises again, not merely as a building but as the beating heart of Nigeria’s artistic.”
The National Arts Theatre reopened as The Wole Soyinka Center for Culture and Creative Arts on October 1, 2025, after renovations.
At the official reopening ceremony, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, to establish a National Arts Theatre Endowment Fund for the maintenance of the national monument.
At the event, the President said, “It has been a wonderful evening, and I have enjoyed myself. Now it is up to Cardoso and others to put together an endowment fund, and I will contribute to it. This is an opportunity to create jobs, maintain accessibility, and uphold commitment. This place will not go dry again,” Tinubu said.
President Tinubu noted that the decision to rename the National Arts Theatre after Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka was in recognition of the playwright’s contributions to Nigeria’s arts and cultural heritage.
“Prof. Wole Soyinka is one of the greatest assets of the world. So, the renaming could not have gone to anyone else.” Tinubu said, adding, “No conspiracy anywhere. I did it.”
“When they brought the question of renovation to my desk, I remembered the journeys that we had together and the gains that I shared with you. Your contribution to our courage, nation-building, and freedom.
“I said it has to be Wole Soyinka Centre. And I’m glad you are here to accept the honour.”
“Let us all come together to rebuild Nigeria. The youths should renew their hope in Nigeria and work together for her continued greatness,” the President added.
The Nobel Laureate had been critical of the idea of naming buildings and other national structures after specific individuals; therefore, the renaming of the National Theatre as The Wole Soyinka Center for Culture and Creative Arts came as a surprise to many.
However, reacting, Professor Soyinka said he had accepted the honour with mixed feelings, admitting that he was notorious for criticizing what he called personal appropriations of public monuments by some leaders.
“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,” Soyinka 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 have resulted in everything being 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.”
Recalling some moments when the Wole Soyinka Center for Culture and Creative Arts was first established, the playwright said, “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.”
“Degraded to such an extent that when Lagos was celebrating its 50th 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’.”
He further noted, “If eating one’s word produces a morsel like this, then it’s a very tasty set of words.”
The playwright added, “With this renovation, Nigerians can now experience African theatre without travelling abroad.”
Professor Wole Soyinka was born on July 13, 1934, near Abeokuta, Ogun State. Growing up, Soyinka attended Government College, Ibadan, in 1954, and later proceeded to the University of Leeds, where he received an honours degree in English in 1957. His play, The Swamp Dwellers, produced in 1958 at the University of London Drama Festival, was to become a turning point in his literary career.
In 1973, he was conferred with an honorary doctoral degree by the University of Leeds and became Professor of English 1973.
Soyinka also received an honorary doctoral degree from several other Universities, including Yale, Harvard, and Moorhouse College in the US; Toronto, Canada; Montpellier, France; and Bayreuth, Germany.
His criticisms of the government forced him into exile in 1994, and a year later, he wrote ‘The Beatification of Area Boy‘. At one time, the then government of General Sani Abacha charged the playwright with treason, but the charges were later dropped with the death of Abacha.
Playwright, author, poet, Wole Soyinka received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, making him the first Black African to be awarded.
