{"id":8421,"date":"2025-10-02T08:33:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T08:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/?p=8421"},"modified":"2025-10-02T08:33:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T08:33:48","slug":"tinubu-renames-national-theatre-as-wole-soyinka-centre-for-culture-and-creative-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/02\/tinubu-renames-national-theatre-as-wole-soyinka-centre-for-culture-and-creative-arts\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinubu Renames National Theatre as Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has unveiled the newly renovated National Theatre in Lagos<\/strong>, officially renaming it the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts<\/strong> in honour of Nigeria\u2019s Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Independence Day cultural event, Tinubu described Soyinka as one of Africa\u2019s greatest intellectuals and a global cultural icon. He said the renaming was a deliberate tribute to Soyinka\u2019s immense contributions to nation-building, freedom, and creativity.<\/p>\n

Why the Theatre Was Renamed<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tinubu explained that the decision was personal and symbolic.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cFor our dear uncle and leader, one of the most talented and creative minds\u2014Uncle Wole Soyinka\u2014no conspiracy anywhere. I did it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are one of the greatest assets of the world, the continent, and the country, Nigeria. So it couldn\u2019t have been anything else. It has to be Wole Soyinka Centre.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The President recalled Nigeria\u2019s proud cultural history, including hosting the world during FESTAC \u201977, and stressed the need for Nigerians to project the nation positively at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

Message to Nigerians and the Diaspora<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tinubu urged Nigerians to stop portraying the country negatively.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis is a country of proud people. Please, lift Nigeria. Believe in Nigeria. Put Nigeria first,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He also announced plans for an endowment fund<\/strong> to sustain the theatre\u2019s revival, pledging his own contribution to ensure the facility never falls into neglect again.<\/p>\n

Cultural Stakeholders Recognised<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tinubu expressed gratitude to Lagos State, the Federal Ministry of Culture, and cultural stakeholders. He also paid tribute to former Lagos governor and Minister of Works, Babatunde Raji Fashola, and Central Bank Governor Yemi Cardoso for their roles in supporting the creative sector.<\/p>\n

Closing his remarks, Tinubu tied the theatre\u2019s revival to his broader vision of national renewal:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cVery happy Independence Day. The worst is over. The economy has recovered. Believe in yourself and give everybody hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has unveiled the newly renovated National Theatre in Lagos, officially renaming it the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in honour of Nigeria\u2019s Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka. Speaking at the Independence Day cultural event, Tinubu described Soyinka as one of Africa\u2019s greatest intellectuals and a global cultural icon. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Tinubu renames Lagos National Theatre as Wole Soyinka Centre, honouring Nobel Laureate and pledging cultural revival through endowment.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8421"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8421"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8425,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8421\/revisions\/8425"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}