Kabir Yusuf, the British trained General Manager of Nigeria’ National Theatre speaks of the time when there was a downturn at the nation’s foremost theatre. His words “when I took over the National Theatre, there were already a lot of problems. The roof was leaking. The air conditioning system was not working, the sound system also was not working. My first test was to renovate the sound units of all the halls and the lighting system. After doing that, we noticed that the toilets also had problems, and so we renovated all of them.
“Staff had not been promoted for some time, there was no proper reception at the Theatre, and offices for staff needed to be overhauled. Also, staff were not being paid for overtime work, and morale was rather low. Then the activities of hoodlums living in the neighbourhood was a huge problem.
“In those days before I came, hardly a week will pass in which somebody wasn’t mugged in the neighbourhood of the National Theatre. This is also a very swampy area, so the hoodlums in the area know their territory well. Now, with the patrols by the police as well as the guard dogs of a private security outfit we employed, it is difficult for the hoodlums in the area to operate.
“ Things had really declined at the edifice which in its golden era, had hosted the Festival of Arts and Culture in 1977, and also played host to other troupes and actors such as the famous Ipi Tombi of South Africa, Wale Ogunyemi’s Langbodo directed by Dapo Adelugba, Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi Is Dead ,among many others.”
Professor Duro Oni, Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos tells Weekly Trust that the National Theatre was modeled after the Bulgarian Hall of Sports and Culture, and adds that in the 70s and 80s it was the Centre of Arts in the country. Today, the theatre whose original plan included a five-star hotel and a massive plaza in its grounds , is undergoing some significant renovation spearheaded by the management of the theatre .
One can speak of a very visible change in the edifice which, conceived in the 70s during the regime of General Yakubu Gowon, is Nigeria’s equivalent of Britain’s Royal Albert Hall and the National British Theatre. An example is the CBAAC Hall whose renovation began just last year and is almost ready for commissioning. It has marble floors and some of the best equipment available. At the main door, which leads into the theatre, one immediately sees a number of ladies dressed in Nigerian attire. One of them escorts the visitor right up to the office of the General Manager. This is the usual practice at the theatre. Weekly Trust is informed that every day, the women dress to reflect the best of Nigerian cultures, and this trend began with the coming of the new GM, who says “the main entrance of the theatre has been altered. It was not like this before. When you come in, you will have the feeling that you have now come into a corporate organisation. You will also be given a tag. This is the pleasant welcome, which greets every visitor to the theatre.”
On the way to the GM’s office Weekly Trust observes that the corridor has received a new coat of paint, and a fresh lot of furniture has been purchased to replace those in the offices. The place glows. Later, Weekly Trust is shown the former CBAAC hall, a part of the theatre, which has been renovated 100 per cent from the floor right through to the ceiling, with a brand new lighting system in place, new chairs, and a new sound system too, and new floor tiles.
According to the GM, “we have put there up to date modern equipment, which can compete with any in any part of the world. Then there is the sound, the lighting in the hall, which is controlled by a computer.”
The GM adds that the main bowl of the theatre requires some 5 million naira in the new year “to revolve the stage which was last revolved some 26 years ago, for the young ones to see how it will fit in, so that whenever the main bowl is ready, then it will be easy for them.” There is a brand new 1,500 KVA generator in place to support the entire theatre. Also, the nearby waterworks has seen some renovation too, while a police station, manned by a Superintendent of Police, has been built to provide security to the theatre.
There are many challenges affecting the smooth running of the theatre. Yusuf comments on this: “the challenges are enormous. We inherited a 37-year-old structure, which has been abandoned. Then you have the old staff who were not retrained, and then the resources that come from the federation account are too small to maintain the theatre. Moreover, we have stakeholders who believe that the “
“We cannot do without putting the generator on. So, we cannot isolate any part of the theatre, because if Hall 1 is in use, and the other four halls are not in use, we have not saved anything because you must start the generator and serve the halls together. What we had wanted was that the halls should be busy every day, so that it would save us a lot of money.”
Again, Professor Oni comments: “the government needs to provide adequate funding for both the National Theatre and the National Troupe. There are competent people there. A National Theatre is a National Theatre to be given adequate funding and support.”
Weekly Trust learnt that so far, there has not been any private sector collaboration with the National Theatre. The GM says “we recently wrote to the private sector to join or collaborate with us. This is because the theatre is a national monument. We will like them to pick up some of our bills and create a kind of presence here, but we received just a few responses.”
He returns to the idea of the five-star hotel and a shopping plaza in the grounds of the National Theatre. “The idea was to build a five-star hotel and a shopping complex that would complement the National Theatre. Ideally, at lunch time if there is a shopping complex here, I can come to the National Theatre to watch a movie. That’s how it ought to be, but before somebody leaves Victoria Island to come and watch a movie, it’s difficult. What we are trying to do is to lease the area to people who can build such hotel and a shopping complex with restaurants around it.”
He speaks of its location: “Architecturally, the theatre is sound. The location on the main island is also good. Even from a distance, you can see the National Theatre, especially in the night when the amber lights are on. It was part of the job I did; resuscitating the amber lights. It is aesthetically pleasing. It is a huge land, strategically placed in the heart of Lagos. Now that the Lagos rail is going to drop at the National Theatre, they will have a national theatre station where people will come right from Mile 2. Even those going to Ebutte-Metta will disembark here.”
On his vision for the National Theatre five years down the line, he says “in five years, if we are sincere in reviving culture, the National Theatre will be a major tourist attraction, and nobody will come to Lagos without coming to the theatre. Speaking in the same vein, Professor Oni says, “The National Theatre is expected to symbolize the artistic and creative endeavours of a society, and act as a catalyst for development in the arts. It should be one where the very best of performances are to be seen.” Professor Dapo Adelugba, currently on Sabbatical at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria says “the National Theatre is doing quite well, but could do with a bigger injection of inputs from children of various ages and from women and men. National planning could take care of this in a conscious way by making budgetary provisions annually, both for the city-based and rural sectors in terms of performers, and, even more importantly, audiences of a heterogeneous composition.”
The National Theatre also has a large basement, a fire service, and countless staff who work on a shift basis every day. It actually has the character of a small town and an e-booking service has since started. Thus, people can book online to use its facilities. According to Yusuf, “through e-booking, people can access our website to see which halls are vacant, and they can book on-line, and make payments on-line. You can see which programme is coming in the month, and you would have an idea of what is coming in the month of November, for instance. “The story is also told of a Lady who came to the theatre to watch a performance with a small hand fan, thinking that the air-conditioning system was not in order. She got the shock of her life when she found that the theatre was even too cold for her, on account of the functioning air-conditioning system. The GM runs a system whereby all monies generated each month are paid into the Federal Governments account. His words: “since I came in 2009, I have paid all the revenues generated into the federal government coffers, a practice which was not done before.”
Yusuf thinks that the golden era of the National Theatre is coming back again. His words “the golden era is coming back again. It’s like buying an old vehicle and trying to rehabilitate it. You spend more money while doing this. The National Theatre needs between 4 and 5 billion naira to put it on sound footing. Yet this is a place of pride which we need to protect.”
A contract was earlier awarded for the fencing of the theatre, construction of five gates and sand filling of the National Theatre, as well as the repair of the leaking roof. This is a contract awarded to the company. “In 2009, a contract (at 299,707,828 naira) was awarded for the fencing of the National Theatre. The contractor moved to site and started work. All of a sudden, he abandoned work, and it became a problem. I was suspended because of that project because I refused to dance to the tune of the contractor. The contract stopped. All the money has been siphoned. When I was recalled, we found that they had paid all the money to the contractor,” he said.
As a result of this situation, the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation directed that the contract be revoked, and the issue reported to the anti-graft agencies, and the officials who facilitated the payment sanctioned by the Board of Governors. The officer who aided the payment, a one-time Deputy General Manager of the National Theatre, has been dismissed after the Board investigated the matter and found him culpable of “dereliction of duty and misconduct”. The officer in question, when contacted told Weekly Trust that “I am very sorry. I can’t oblige you.”
Pater Konstantinov, the MD of the company behind the projects at the National Theatre, has not responded to texts sent by this reporter to his phone as at press time.
