USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: National Theatre Sold to UAE Company to be Used as Shopping Mall

PS

Wole Soyinka told me that The Drottningholm Court Theatre was one of his favourite theatres.  He is assured -  and needs no further assurance from Alice Bah Kuhnke ( Sweden's Minister of Culture and Democracy) that neither the Drottningholm Court Theatre nor Dramaten ( Sweden's National Theatre) is going to be sold to the a United Arab Emirates Company so that they can build  a shopping Mall where it used to be. Perish the thought. The idea itself is sacrilegious

On Tuesday, 30 December 2014 21:07:45 UTC+1, Kola Fabiyi wrote:

National Theatre sold for $40million ( N7.5Billion) To Dubai Based Company For Shopping Mall

By Eagle Eye Report Worldwide / 2014-12-30

National Theatre Sold to UAE Company to be Used as Shopping Mall

Minister for Culture and Tourism, Edem Duke started his career as a hospitality entrepreneur. He managed a very successful hotel, The Mirage and opened a spin off ethnic restaurant, 'Dukes' where ethic cuisine is served in an ancient African themed restaurant complete with all the decor and ambiance that takes the diner on an exotic and adventurous journey through the very goodness and richness of our African culture.

This confirms him to be a man who is committed to preserving Nigeria's culture in all its originality...a quality which easily won him the position of our culture minister.Mr. Duke secretly flew out of the country to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to sell off The National Theatre to Mulk Holdings, a diversified UAE-based business conglomerate based in Sharjah. The National Theatre was reportedly sold for $40million (abut N7.5Billion) and will be converted to a duty-free shopping mall.

The Nigeria Political Economist reports:
"The secret deal which was successfully shielded from the Nigerian media, in spite of a subsisting concessioning arrangement with the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, was signed and sealed in December , 2014 between a delegation led by Duke, the General Manager of the National Theatre, Kabiru Yar'Adua and representatives of Mulk Holding, said to be ploughing the sum of $40 million (about N7.5 billion) counterpart fund into the project."

The website went on to quote from the  December 10, 2014 edition of GulfAfrica Review, which wrote that Kabir Yaradua, CEO of the National Theatre said:
"The interior of the National Theatre will be redesigned and renovated into a modern duty-free and retail shopping mall. The project will convert approximately 30,000m2 of the existing space in two 15,000m2 phases."
The report also quoted Ambassador of Nigeria to the UAE, His Excellency Bashir Yuguda, as saying:
"The National Theatre has been the hub of cultural activities in Nigeria since its establishment in 1976, and this development will compliment and kick-start a master re-development programme designed for this area."
Minister of Tourism, HE Edem Duke, noted:
"As part of the continuous drive to promote culture and tourism, the federal government is making necessary arrangements to transform the land into a modern mixed-use commercial and business hub of global standards."

The National Arts Theatre was originally built for the Festival of Arts and Culture in 1977, and later underwent a controversial privatisation after 2001 under President Olusegun Obasanjo. Fresh plans further anticipate leasing the land around the theatre in a 30-year concession.

My questions are these:
1. What has a duty-free shopping mall got to do with the promotion and preservation of Nigerian arts and culture? Is the memory of the National Theatre as a Nigerian cultural hub to be erased forever?

2. if the federal government is leasing the running and management of the National Theatre to the private sector, why must it be to a foreign company? The influx of foreign investors taking over the business opportunities of indigenous entrepreneurs is further increasing unemployment and hardship for millions of Nigerians.

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