By Maduka Nweke,
[email protected] 08034207864
Various arguments advanced by Federal Government to support its position of not selling the National Theatre have been punctured by its negligence of the national monument. The theatre, constructed for the 1977 African Festival of Arts and Culture, has remained a carcass with little or no rehabilitation.
The structure which would have been a tourist attraction and a veritable source of revenue for the government has emained a source of worry by many. Lack of funds has beeen given as an excuse for not rehabilitating it. This has been criticised by prominent men and women in the arts industry.
But government on its own has argued over the years that it is too expensive to maintain the building because it does not generate revenue. But to some stakeholders, that reasoning is wrong because the government should not evaluate the property based on its actual price but in terms of the revenue that could be realised from it. The building is also not structurally fit for the assignment at the moment.
Already, people have begun to feel that the place has become a graveyard due to poor power supply to the area wghich makes it always dark. So, the option over the years has been to concession it to the private sector. It was also considered that the structure be converted to hotels, casinos, playground.
One of the senior officers at the edifice during the tenure of Edem Duke as Minister for Tourism, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “We have over the years campaigned and protected our national monuments for our national pride, but the outstanding question is, ‘where will that theatre come from? How will it sustain itself? What will be its agenda?’ You cannot have that building and then you say we have a National Theatre. We need theatres all over the place. So, I am a part of the movement for the privatisation of the theatre. Private enterprise always brings a different energy that will give life.”
But making his contribution on the subject, the General Manager, Mallam Kabir Yusuf, reiterated the need for the public to understand that the main body of the theatre is not in any way affected by government’s concession arrangement. According to him, “all we need to do is to refurbish the main bowl of the theatre to serve for bigger purposes for the culture sector. It is the fallow portions of the land within the premises, which form part of the masterplan that will be developed to meet the required standard befitting a theatre environment,” he said.
He stressed that over the years, many people have misconstrued this to mean that the National Theatre is up for sale. “No, we are not selling the National Theatre. Let me make that crystal clear here. There was a masterplan put in place in the early 1970s when the idea of the place was first mooted. Now, the Federal Government feels that the completion of that place is long over due. This is why we have been given the mandate to go ahead to complete it so as to give the environment its proper place as the entertainment city of the country,” Yusuf said.
However, as the clock ticks, the argument to privatise the national edifice continues to gather momentum as those who earlier did not support selling/privatising it, are of the opinion that if government is not ready for concession, then a substantial budget should be allotted to refurbish it and make it attractive to the arts personnel. One of these is Chief Anthony Udemgba, a civil servant with Anambra State Government. According to him, the national monument has lost its allure and because of that no one goes there for anything except those who hire the main bowl for wedding or other ceremonies.
“Drastic measures should be taken to revive the icon and give it life. Everything that is holding Nigeria together is now being privatised into private hands. The way and manner government officials buy government property these times is worrisome. Most times when they buy these assets, they will not use them for the purpose for which they were established, rather, they use them for businesses that are not related to the original plan,” he said.
The Federal Government, being inundated with all these issues, spoke through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that it has no plans to sell the National Arts Theatre to the Lagos State Government or to any other bidder. The Minister made this known last week at a dinner with Nigerian TV and online content developers attending the MIPTV in Cannes, France.
MIPTV is an annual TV and online content development event and the largest global distribution television and digital content market.
The Minister who described the Arts Theatre as a national monument, stressed that it was impossible for anyone to sell any asset of government without following due process and clearcut rules. He explained that the Lagos Government offered to renovate the main bowl of the theatre, two cinema halls, the exhibition lobby and the banquet hall as part of its collaboration with the Federal Government.
“I want to say it loud and clear that there is no iota of truth in the rumour that we are selling the National Theatre to the Lagos State government. We do not have the capacity to do so and will never do so. What is happening is that we are fortunate to have a governor like Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos who is very passionate about the creative industry,” he stated.