Friday, July 12, 2024 - President Tinubu has renamed the National Theatre as Wole
Soyinka Centre for Arts and Culture.
The President disclosed this in a
statement released to celebrate the Nobel Laureate who turns 90 on Saturday,
July 13.
‘’I am pleased to join admirers around the
world in celebrating the 90th birthday of Nigeria's iconic son and the
world-renowned Professor Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde, famously known as Wole
Soyinka.
Tomorrow the
13th July will be the climax of the series of local and international
activities held in his honour. To underscore the global relevance of the
literary giant, a symposium, along with poetry reading was held in Rabat
Morocco on 9 July. The event was organized by the Academy of the Kingdom of
Morocco and the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA).
Professor
Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Literature Prize in 1986, deserves
all the accolades as he marks the milestone of 90 years on earth. Having beaten
prostate cancer, this milestone is a fitting testament to his ruggedness as a
person and the significance of his work.
It is also
fitting we celebrate this national treasure while he is still with us.
I am,
accordingly, delighted to announce the decision of the Federal Government to
rename the National Theatre in Iganmu, Surulere, as the Wole Soyinka Centre for
Culture and the Creative Arts.
We do not
only celebrate Soyinka’s remarkable literary achievements but also his
unwavering dedication to the values of human dignity and justice.''
Read the statement below
‘’I am pleased to join admirers around the
world in celebrating the 90th birthday of Nigeria's iconic son and the
world-renowned Professor Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde, famously known as Wole
Soyinka.
Tomorrow
the 13th July will be the climax of the series of local and international
activities held in his honour. To underscore the global relevance of the
literary giant, a symposium, along with poetry reading was held in Rabat
Morocco on 9 July. The event was organized by the Academy of the Kingdom of
Morocco and the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA).
Professor Soyinka, the first African
to win the Nobel Literature Prize in 1986, deserves all the accolades as he
marks the milestone of 90 years on earth. Having beaten prostate cancer, this
milestone is a fitting testament to his ruggedness as a person and the
significance of his work.
It is also fitting we celebrate this
national treasure while he is still with us.
I am, accordingly, delighted to
announce the decision of the Federal Government to rename the National Theatre
in Iganmu, Surulere, as the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative
Arts.
We do not only celebrate Soyinka’s
remarkable literary achievements but also his unwavering dedication to the
values of human dignity and justice.
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