At the 11th Bankers’ Committee retreat in Ogere, Ogun State last December, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed that the redevelopment of the National Theatre – renovation of the main building and development of a 40- acre Creative Industry Park – would commence this month, January 2020.
“What the Bankers Committee is doing is to help revive dead assets or an asset that is dying; that cannot reach its potential and generate revenue as a result of lack of funds and good maintenance,” Emefiele said.
His comment was an affirmation of the earlier September 30, 2019 disclosure that the apex bank and Bankers’ Committee would revive the 44-year-old national edifice with N25billion.
For stakeholders, the intervention couldn’t have come at a better time because the Theatre indeed needs urgent and massive rehabilitation. It is a well-known fact that its 5000-capacity main bowl hadn’t been used for over 25 years due to structural errors and a faulty stage. All the other halls equally need attention while the establishment of the Creative Industry Park will create jobs for hundreds, if not thousands of people in the sector.
This is more so as successive managers of the edifice had complained of inadequate funding and had barely managed to keep it afloat. Thus, the CBN/Bankers’ Committee intervention was a welcome one that many critical stakeholders hailed.
Reacting then, President, National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), Israel Eboh commended the intervention. “The Federal Government’s response through the CIFI managed by the Central Bank of Nigeria is a welcome development. This intervention will be a catalyst for growth and expansion. It is the government’s acknowledgement of the giant strides the creative industry has made both as an economic contributor and a promotional tool for the Nigeria brand. This fund will grow the capacity of the practitioners, create more jobs, open up the market and further raise the standard and quality of works from Nigeria to be able to compete globally. The terms and conditions must be industry-friendly for the industry players to be able to access the funds, to achieve an impactful contribution to the sector.
“It is naturally expected that part of this intervention funds must go into developing infrastructures. We cannot talk of an industry growth only on the strength of loans for products but also because the facilities to help develop and distribute these products are also invested upon. If part of developing the creative industry’s infrastructure is investing in the facelift of the National Theatre and the surrounding environment, then it is a positive statement of intent. After all, the National Theatre is the symbol of our creative and entertainment industry.”
Artist Mufu Onifade had the same view. “This is a positive development. Some of us had fought against the concession or sale of the National Theatre. We resisted all attempts by past governments to sell it off to those whose interests were merely anti-culture and ravenously pro-business. The National Theatre as an edifice is a Nigeria’s landmark symbol of culture. It’s our national cultural legacy and should be preserved as such for the future. So, I am delighted at the government’s intervention through the CBN.”
Laudable as the intervention is and especially as work is set to commence soonest, there’s an issue that might stall the redevelopment efforts if not promptly addressed. Following years of underfunding, the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo administration came up with the idea of selling the National Theatre. However, stakeholders opposed the move before subsequent administrations came up with concession.
It is the lack of clarity over the concession that might well rubbish the best intentions of the CBN and Bankers’ Committee. The Yar’Adua and Jonathan governments had concession processes for the national edifice, with preferred bidders emerging. Jadeas Trust Consortium was reserve bidders at the public opening of the transaction bids in 2007. But following the failure of the preferred bidder to conclude the transaction, Jadeas Trust automatically qualified as the bid winner.
The succeeding Jonathan administration abandoned that concession exercise as it held another one with the involvement of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) among others. The then management of the National Theatre under Kabiru Yusuf held roadshows outside the country to attract investors.
At the end of that exercise concluded shortly before the advent of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, Topwide Apeas/ Chris Michael Ltd won the bid. The two winners from the previous concession exercises initially had their differences but later reconciled.
This was the state of affairs until September when Emefiele announced the intervention. However, it is unclear if the CBN and Bankers’ Committee knew about the existing concession agreement between the Federal Government and the two consortiums. Jadeas Trust and Topwide Apeas/ Chris Michael Ltd are saying that they signed an agreement with the ICRC, BPE and other relevant government ministries and agencies except for the National Theatre Board. The Theatre’s Board was allegedly not constituted when the deal was signed. They have also said that they have been collaborating to upgrade the Theatre and develop ancillary infrastructure contained in its masterplan.
The consortiums are now alleging that the CBN and Bankers’ Committee, reportedly acting on a Presidential directive, are interlopers. People had further described the CBN and Bankers’ Committee decision as a breach of process, noting that the concession was nearing conclusion before they came into the arrangement.
Sympathisers of the consortiums have been critical of the Buhari administration, wondering why it gave the CBN the green light with some people already on the project.
Curiously, the supervising Ministry of Information and Information under Alhaji Lai Mohammed has also not said anything about the CBN and Banker’s Committee redevelopment efforts. Even when the Governing Board of the National Theatre said it knew nothing about the intervention and that the edifice remains government’s property, mum was the word from Mohammed.
After Governor Babajide Sanwoolu, his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, Emefiele and others visited the National Theatre on October 5, 2019, the Theatre’s Governing Board said it didn’t know about the purported handing over of the edifice to the CBN.
Board Secretary, Agbo Ira, said in a statement: “There is no truth in the purported statement or newspaper reports that the National Theatre has been handed over to the Central Bank of Nigeria nor to the Lagos State government by the Federal Government of Nigeria. We call on all stakeholders in the creative and entertainment sector and workers to remain calm as the status quo ante remains and nothing has changed.”
A management staff of the Theatre who spoke in confidence confirmed that they had no prior notice of the visit. “We saw it on the news just like you did. They didn’t tell us they were coming. We would have at least made arrangements to receive and show them around inside the Theatre so that they would know the extent of the intervention required. All this so-called intervention is like shaving a man’s head behind his back. We need clarity over this issue, and fast,” said the source.
Efforts to get the official reaction from the Ministry of Information and Culture have proved abortive with no one willing to speak.
The fear now is that litigations by the aggrieved concessionaires might truncate the planned intervention which Nigerians are eagerly awaiting. They (concessionaires) are not taking it lightly, and it is noteworthy that they are already fighting back via the media. Who knows what next, they would do?
Either the Presidency or Minister Mohammed must clarify the issue before the redevelopment plan gets truncated as stakeholders are getting worried. Nothing stops the government from dialoguing with the concessionaires and giving them a role in the planned redevelopment work. The CBN/Bankers’ Committee intervention is a golden opportunity that must not go begging. The creative industry and Nigerians a are expectant, with hope daily welling up in their hearts. The government shouldn’t throw a spanner in the works with its tardiness; the planned redevelopment must not be truncated.
