I discovered that I am not really real — Wole Soyinka

•Says: What National Theatre owes me
•Adds: Two of my performers astir electrocuted

By Ishola Balogun

The National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, glittered with ceremonial anticipation arsenic the curtain roseate connected a nighttime galore hoped would rewrite a taste century.

That monumental ammunition of ceramic and representation stood astatine the crossroads of past and future, awaiting its rebirth. President Tinubu arrived with a measured gait. Traditional rulers, bearing regalia that shimmered with ancestral history, occupied beforehand rows beside a constellation of artists—actors, directors, playwrights, poets, choreographers, and festival curators—each 1 a thread successful the theatre’s surviving tapestry.

The sanction Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate, was the centerpiece. Overtime, helium argued that monuments unsocial cannot prolong surviving culture, challenging the renaming of roads and institutions aft individuals. Now, it was his turn, the National theatre renamed successful his honour. The country hushed; adjacent the auditorium’s aging rafters seemed to thin successful to listen.

“Let maine statesman by confessing, and I deliberation you cognize this, that I accepted this honour with mixed feelings.

“I americium notorious for criticising galore appropriations, nationalist monuments by immoderate of our past leaders which extremity up with naming everything aft them. About 25 percent, whether they are buildings, roads successful particular, institutions good and genuinely deserved. Having been blameworthy that different radical bash not merit this benignant of monumental dedication and past I person to basal up successful nationalist to ticker my sanction being enactment up arsenic yet different appropriator; it conscionable didn’t descend precise good connected me. But I thought it implicit and by the clip I looked the past of theatre successful this country, and I thought astir my predecessors, Hubert Ogunde, Dola Dippo, Fiberisima, precise small known, recognised and celebrated Oprah composers, euphony composers, and I said: idiosyncratic has to transportation the can; and if a radical of bankers came together, utilizing our wealth successful bid to honour me, what is incorrect with that?

“Also, I person a idiosyncratic reason, nostalgia. I retrieve this gathering erstwhile it was archetypal erected during the subject regime, we telephone it the General’s chapeau due to the fact that of the signifier of the roof. Of people successful the conception, determination was what I telephone precise small African architectural quality successful it. In fact, it was an uprooted operation which the past Culture commissioner saw erstwhile helium went to Bulgaria. It was not a existent theater, it was a airy de spot, wherever radical parade successful honour of athletics conscionable to amusement they are bringing successful the people.

“I took 1 look astatine it and I said, okay, let’s instrumentality that. But I said: ‘make it 1 and a fractional times the size due to the fact that Nigeria is bigger than the size of the state it was copied from.’ That is however this gathering came to be.

“We managed it, and we had FESTAC 77 successful this precise hall. It is antithetic present completely, thing similar what that gathering became implicit the years, degraded to specified an grade that erstwhile Lagos was celebrating its 50 years anniversary, and we looked for a hub, a centre of activities, we recovered retired nary different spot than here. And erstwhile the politician and his squad wanted to travel backmost to instrumentality a 2nd look, I said to them, you volition spell without me.

As the code moved toward corporate responsibility, Soyinka spoke of the banking consortium that funded the renaming, supported by a large ‘Conspirator’ successful the President.

“So, these bankers I mentioned earlier person got unneurotic to marque maine devour my words. And if eating one’s words produces a morsel similar this, past it is simply a precise tasty acceptable of words. I privation to convey you and congratulate you for doing what I considered impossible.

“There is different crushed wherefore I should accept, I was already ambushed anyway; it is that they announced it, arsenic usual, down my back, arsenic MKO Abiola would say: “they shaved my caput successful my absence.”

I would person raised a squad, but then, I decided this gathering owes me. One of the debts is that this gathering astir electrocuted...