The National Theatre rehabilitation project worth N65billion, which is being financed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers Committee would be completed by March next year. What this means is that the completion of the main bowl of the National Theatre will come three months after completing the first phase of the project.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed this on Tuesday at the official commissioning of the first phase of the project in Iganmu, Lagos.
“We are really proud to be part of this project and we want to commend the Bankers Committee for funding this initiative. This is just phase A of the grand plans we have. We will be completing the Theatre in March 2023 where we will have the main bowl which will take about 5000 people capacity,” he said.
Represented by Aishah Ahmad, deputy governor, financial system stability directorate, he said that the National Theatre is going to be as good as anything else seen around the world.
According to him, there are going to be four verticals, including Information Technology (IT), fashion, music and movies that will be providing the enabling platform for young Nigerians who are very creative to unleash all of that creativity.
“I look forward to coming back here to have all sorts of exciting events coming up. There are three cinema halls within this room, you can enjoy the cinema or come here for an art exhibition. Once the tech space is ready, you could go in there for hackathons, the possibilities are endless, and I think it is a befitting monument to just how much Nigerian arts or the Nigerian creative industry has pivoted itself to the world,” Emefiele said.
Read also: First phase of National Theatre rehabilitation project completed
In his remarks, Zurab Pololikashuili, Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), announced that the United Nations will in the next two to three years establish universities of tourism in African continent and one will be located in Nigeria.
He urged governments across the African continent to instil tourism in the curriculum of African schools.
Pololikashuili said that in order to improve the tourism industry in Africa, the necessary tourism education must be passed on to the younger generations, who remain the future of the industry.
”We are here to promote and support new projects, we hope for a better education for young people through schools. We have to start by bringing tourism to schools across Africa,” he said.
Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture said that the Federal Government would continue to create the necessary infrastructure for tourism to flourish in Nigeria.
According to the revenue statistics generated in 2021 post-COVID-19, he said the tourism industry sectors were generating huge revenue annually.
He noted that music generated N300 billion, Nollywood N170 billion while fashion brought in N2 trillion.
“As a government we will continue to provide the education and infrastructure necessary for the industry to thrive and as Nigerians we must all work in peace and unity. I am proud to say that Nigeria has attracted a lot of investment in the area of digitization, I encourage young people not to bury their talents,” Mohammed said.
The completed phase one project was commissioned by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who sang Asake’s ‘organised’ hit track to encourage the talented young people.
