40 Billion Naira Revamp Heralds Return To Glory Days In National Theatre Lagos

 

Those of you too young to know what the National Theatre was like in its glory days of the late 1970s and 80s, are about to be astonished by the renewed beauty of Nigeria's most elegant and powerful cultural edifice.

My generation used to attend the National Theatre to watch the top US R&B bands of the day, like Kool & the Gang, Shalamar, The Brothers Johnson, Delegation, Dynasty and other acts, who toured Nigeria regularly, and played at the 4,000 seater main bowl of the then state-of-the-art, fully air-conditioned, world class National Theatre, Lagos.

Stevie Wonder played there once, I believe.

You know it had to be a top drawer venue for Stevie Wonder to play there.

Famous African acts like Ipi Ntombi of South Africa, Miriam Makeba, Manu Dibango, and others, famously graced the theatre in its hey day.

The renowned edifice fell into slow disrepair during the military regimes of Gen. Babangida and Abacha, and has been neglected ever since by successive govts.

Until President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, came to power, and, together with the Lagos State govt, decided that Enough was Enough.

That it was time to restore the National Arts Theatre, the pride of Nigeria, back to its glory days.

An unprecedented sum of 40 billion Naira was devoted to the renovation, and what we are about to see is the 21st century National Theatre, fully upgraded, updated, and ready to host the world's greatest superstars, in top class condition, once more.

The nearly 3000sqm roof terrace, which had been a major source of leakages, is also currently undergoing repair, while the floors, walls, panels, and ceilings have been stripped back as part of a plan to ensure that all underlying structures can support new finishes.

In the 4000-seater main bowl, the new stage infrastructure will deliver future-fit performing arts spaces, for dance, theatre, music, and multimedia, with adjustable acoustics and advanced technical systems, adaptable to the requirements of audiences, artists, and sponsors.

The team also observed that the banquet halls and exhibition spaces as well as the two-500-seater cinemas had been stripped out, with new walls, floor and ceiling finishes being installed.

While inspecting the master plan for the adjoining 44Ha site, which had been concluded, the inspection team was informed that an environmental remediation exercise, along with the Lagos State Government, was also on course with the recently concluded Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Review led by the Federal Ministry of Environment of the 44Ha site.

Similarly, the committee was briefed that mitigation plans had been put in place to support the preservation of the natural ecosystem and manage all potential impacts, in line with the project sponsors’ commitment to ensuring the legacy of sound environmental principles.

According to the project team, the sand filling will commence shortly, having identified the areas that will generate the least impact on the environment through site studies (topographical, bathymetric, geotechnical, hydraulic and hydrology) conducted over 12 months.