Soyinka Centre For Culture Ready Soon, Says Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has assured that the ongoing work on the newly refurbished Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, Iganmu, in Lagos, will soon be completed and ready for public use.

Governor Sanwo-Olu stated this during an interview with journalists after he led some state officials and stakeholders on a tour of the theatre in Iganmu at the weekend.

He said the newly transformed Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, formally known as the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, which can be compared to the World International Centre, would be completed in about four months.

The Governor also commended the Bankers Committee and stakeholders in the creative sector that collaborated with the Lagos State Government to transform the National Arts Theatre to bring back the glory of the edifice to meet international standards.

Governor Sanwo-Olu who was very excited by the transformation in the Centre in the last four years, said when completed, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts would promote arts, tourism, and culture, adding that it would also be a place where the international community could converge for conferences and host world-class performances, among other activities.

He said: “I am genuinely excited at the work the Bankers Committee has been able to do. They have shown us that when we put our minds to things as a country and a people, we can get the best out of ourselves.

“When we all came here four or five years ago, we were discouraged and saddened by what we saw at one of our national treasures. But what has happened in the last four to five years, and with what we see today during our tour, we have brought back the old glory even in a bigger, better, and more transformative way. I commend all the professionals and companies that have put this together.

Also speaking to journalists, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Idris Aregbe, said the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, when completed, would compete favourably with the international community as a tourist attraction.