In a birthday message to Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, who turns 90 on July 13, President Bola Tinubu announced the Federal Government’s decision to rename the National Theatre in Iganmu, Surulere, as The Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts. Tinubu praised Soyinka for his profound influence on writers, scholars, and activists, and for his role in inspiring the fight against military dictators in Nigeria.
Tinubu expressed admiration for Soyinka’s dedication to democracy and his long-standing opposition to corruption and maladministration. Describing Soyinka as one of the finest minds of his generation, Tinubu recalled their shared struggle for democracy following the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election. He highlighted Soyinka’s efforts in exile to galvanize opposition through NALICON and NADECO.
Soyinka, a globally celebrated playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, actor, singer, composer, and documentarian, won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986, becoming the first African to win in that category. He has received numerous other prestigious awards, including the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature, the Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Europe Theatre Prize Special Prize.
The National Theatre, started by General Yakubu Gowon’s regime and completed in 1976 by General Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime, has been a major centre for the performing arts in Nigeria. The renaming of the National Theatre follows President Tinubu’s recent decision to name the Arterial Road N20 in Abuja after Soyinka, which was inaugurated on June 4.