Friday, December 14, 2012

THE report that the Federal Government plans to establish a second National Theatre in Calabar, Cross River State, is ordinarily to be placed in the context of the country's diverse culture, and the need to preserve this, nationwide. If theatres are structures that will promote the country's culture (and this is doubtful), governments, both at the state and the federal levels can establish them. Against the seeming neglect of the huge investment embedded in the multi-billion naira National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos, however, the government's proposal has once again reiterated the nation's poor national ethos and proclivity for wasteful adventures on white elephants.

According to the report, five senior officials of the National Theatre were deployed to Calabar, on the order of General Manager, Mallam Kabir Yusuf, preparatory for a take-off of the National Theatre project in Calabar, and for which N700 million was allegedly appropriated in the 2012 budget. The report stated that this deployment was approved by the Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke.

Chief Duke's background as one who comes from Cross Rivers, a state of the federation with a passion to develop tourism, may perhaps be driving his personal sentiment, which might have been amplified by the dismal impression painted of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, when Duke visited in August this year. During his inspection of the iconic architectural masterpiece and cultural landmark, Duke expressed dismay at the daunting situations that have rendered the National Theatre, Lagos, an ill-maintained and under-utilised national edifice.

With its scenic Obudu Ranch, its globally patronised Obudu mountain race, and dazzling annual cultural fiesta and carnival of world renown, all of which are complemented by a promising free trade zone and Tinapa Resort, Cross Rivers State has, in recent years, positioned itself as the tourism capital of the country.

Equally true, is the grim fact that the National Theatre is compromised by an invasion of both trespassers and a neglected topography. The question is whether a rush to build another theatre is the solution to the problems identified with the Lagos theatre. Is it not possible to refurbish the present one while the Calabar project is ongoing? Must such a national edifice be made to lay waste? Official abandonment unfortunately appears to be government's unwritten policy for many purpose-built edifices. The 36-year-old National Theatre was abandoned after the Federal Government relocated the seat of power to Abuja, where a space had been allocated for another National Theatre. When the Yar'Adua Centre took over that space, the idea of an FCT National Theatre was abandoned, only for another National Theatre to be proposed for Calabar.

It would amount to an audacious display of waste, negligence, fiscal imprudence and sheer nonchalance towards national heritage, if the decision to execute the Calabar project was a mere resolve to quickly spend the appropriated fund before the end of the financial year. It is a warped attitude that is reflected in the management of the country's national museums, national stadia and national libraries.

The case of the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, for instance is a national tragedy. What kind of people will sell part of their national museum for a shopping mall to foreigners? It portends a skewed sense of patriotism, typified by paradox of a splendid mall towering a derelict national museum. The same story befalls the national libraries and national archives.

If government desires to establish another National Theatre in Calabar, the sensible thing to do should be to resuscitate the National Theatre in Lagos. Proper rehabilitation of the environment should begin with reconstructive landscaping of the National Theatre and its environs; followed by a methodical expulsion of hoodlums and the so-called undesirable elements from that vicinity. The argument about the compromised state of the National Theatre and its lack of maintenance, as an excuse for incapacitation, is no justification for inaction. Government can harness its resources and put the National Theatre to work. While working on the Calabar project, government should move to give others a face-lift.

The National Theatre, National Stadium, National Library, and especially the National Museum, together form our national patrimony, and on no account must they become items of abandonment, business deals, or sale to foreigners.