Lagos Wants The Glory Of A Creative Capital, But Its Theatre Practitioners Want A Place In The Budget
A Political Performance at the National Theatre
POLITICS and theatre share an important feature: both depend on presentation, persuasion and the ability to hold an audience’s attention. In Lagos, where political campaigns often unfold on an impressive scale, the similarities can be particularly striking.
That connection became more pronounced when Deputy Governor of Lagos State and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, took his campaign promises to the National Theatre in Lagos.
The venue offered an opportunity to connect political ambition with the cultural identity of the state. It also provided an appropriate setting for a discussion about the future of Lagos as a commercial and creative centre.
However, the central concern raised by this commentary is that the performing arts industry did not receive the attention its contribution deserved in the vision presented.
The contradiction is difficult to ignore. A candidate chose a major cultural landmark to discuss the future of Lagos, yet the people whose professional activities give such a building its purpose were left asking where they belonged in that future.
The issue goes beyond the choice of venue or the wording of a campaign speech. It concerns the place of culture in public policy and whether Lagos is prepared to support the creative professionals whose work contributes to its identity and economy.
Hamzat’s position as deputy governor and governorship candidate makes the question particularly relevant. He represents an administration seeking political continuity, while his campaign offers an opportunity to explain what a future development agenda might prioritise.
Consequently, the creative community has a reasonable basis for asking whether the performing arts will receive meaningful policy attention or remain an occasional feature of government ceremonies.
The Contradiction in Lagos’s Creative Reputation
Lagos is widely recognised as one of Nigeria’s major centres of cultural and creative activity. Its music enjoys international reach, its films attract audiences beyond the country, and its artists contribute to the cultural experiences that distinguish the city.
The performing arts also provide a platform for storytelling, cultural preservation, education and social engagement. Through theatre, dance and live performance, practitioners interpret society, preserve indigenous expressions and create opportunities for audiences to engage with important issues.
Moreover, the industry supports a wide range of professional activities. It creates work for actors, playwrights, directors, choreographers, musicians, designers, technical crews, producers and marketers.
Yet, the original argument identifies a gap between Lagos’s cultural reputation and the institutional support available to its performing arts practitioners.
Government frequently recognises the value of artistic performances when organising public ceremonies, festivals, anniversaries and official engagements. During such occasions, artistes help create the atmosphere, attract attention and project the state’s cultural image.
Nevertheless, that recognition does not always translate into a durable system of support.
When practitioners seek accessible performance venues, production financing, professional development, better working conditions and investment opportunities, the industry’s place in the development conversation appears less certain.
This creates an uncomfortable imbalance: government benefits from the visibility and cultural appeal of artistic work, while the professionals responsible for producing that value continue to face structural difficulties.
The challenge, therefore, is not whether Lagos has creative talent. It is whether the state has built the policy and economic environment required to help that talent flourish.
The Limits of Grants, Festivals & Ceremonial Support
Successive cultural interventions can create opportunities, but their impact depends on the structures that support them.
A festival may attract audiences and provide temporary employment. Similarly, a workshop can improve professional skills, while a grant may help an artist complete a production.
These interventions are useful. However, they cannot independently establish a sustainable performing arts industry.
The problem emerges when government treats isolated activities as sufficient evidence of comprehensive cultural development.
For instance, supporting a few productions does not resolve the broader financing difficulties facing independent theatre companies. Organising occasional festivals does not guarantee regular access to performance spaces. Equally, inviting artistes to official events does not provide the professional security required to sustain careers.
Without predictable funding, accessible venues and reliable production opportunities, theatre practitioners must navigate an uncertain environment.
Furthermore, the industry requires a functioning relationship between artists, audiences, investors, educational institutions, venue managers and public authorities. Each component contributes to the production and distribution of cultural work.
A sustainable system must therefore address the entire creative value chain rather than concentrate on isolated events.
It should also recognise that professional theatre involves substantial technical and organisational demands. Productions require rehearsals, equipment, costumes, lighting, sound, marketing, venue management and administrative coordination.
When these requirements remain expensive or inaccessible, the industry struggles to expand, even where audiences and creative talent exist.
Lagos cannot reasonably expect its performing arts sector to deliver substantial economic value without addressing these practical conditions.
The Questions Hamzat’s Vision Must Answer
The National Theatre campaign appearance has brought the conversation to a critical point. As a governorship candidate, Hamzat has an opportunity to explain how his proposed development agenda will address the structural concerns of the performing arts community.
A central proposal worth examining is the establishment of a Lagos State Performing Arts Development Fund. Such a mechanism could provide a more predictable basis for supporting productions and professional activity, subject to transparent eligibility requirements and accountability.
Equally important is the availability of affordable performance spaces across the state.
The original commentary questions whether the four performing spaces it identifies as having been built by the state adequately meet the needs of professional theatre practitioners. That concern deserves a practical response.
How accessible are these facilities? What technical resources do they provide? What are their operating costs? Can independent companies use them regularly? Do they have programmes that support emerging practitioners and local productions?
Beyond infrastructure, Lagos needs a clear approach to private-sector investment in theatre and other creative enterprises.
Appropriate incentives could encourage businesses to finance productions, support cultural venues and invest in creative enterprises. However, such arrangements would need transparent rules and measurable public benefits.
Professional training also deserves attention. Young practitioners require opportunities to develop their skills in acting, directing, stage management, lighting, sound engineering, costume design and production management.
In addition, indigenous theatre and cultural tourism should form part of the discussion. Lagos can strengthen its cultural identity by supporting local stories, languages, performance traditions and artistic expressions.
The welfare of practitioners is another essential concern. A policy that encourages productions without considering fair remuneration and professional working conditions would leave a significant gap.
Indeed, the original essay proposes that Lagos consider a framework guaranteeing minimum payment standards for performing artists. Such a proposal would require consultation with practitioners and careful consideration of the different employment arrangements within the industry.
These questions deserve specific answers because campaign promises should be capable of translation into policy priorities, budgetary commitments and measurable results.
A Refurbished National Theatre Cannot Guarantee a Thriving Industry
The refurbishment of the National Theatre is an important cultural development. A modern and functional facility can provide valuable space for performances, exhibitions, conferences and other creative activities.
Nevertheless, the physical improvement of a cultural monument should not be confused with the development of the industry it represents.
A theatre building is only one part of a much larger ecosystem. Its value depends on the productions it hosts, the professionals who use it, the audiences it attracts and the financial arrangements that sustain its activities.
For that reason, the National Theatre’s future should be assessed through more than its renovated appearance.
Independent practitioners need to know whether they can afford to use its facilities. Theatre companies need clarity about production support, access arrangements and technical services. Young professionals need opportunities to gain experience and develop careers.
Furthermore, the institution requires an audience-development strategy that encourages regular attendance rather than relying exclusively on major official events.
Its management model must also ensure that the building operates as a living cultural institution.
Without these arrangements, even a beautifully refurbished facility could struggle to fulfil its broader purpose.
The comparison with a stadium is instructive. Constructing a modern sports facility does not automatically produce a successful football industry. Investment must also reach athletes, coaches, competitions, training systems and the businesses that sustain the sport.
Likewise, Lagos cannot develop its performing arts industry through architecture alone.
Theatre Creates Jobs, Businesses & Economic Opportunities
One of the most persistent misconceptions about the performing arts is that they exist mainly for entertainment.
Entertainment is certainly important, but the economic contribution of theatre extends much further.
Every production brings together professionals whose work supports a chain of economic activities. Actors and playwrights provide the artistic content, while directors and producers coordinate the creative process.
Behind them are costume designers, set builders, lighting specialists, sound engineers, musicians, stage managers, technicians and marketers. Their combined efforts create employment and demand for specialised services.
Additionally, productions can generate business for transport operators, hotels, restaurants, printers, equipment suppliers and venue operators.
Successful productions may attract investment, build audiences and generate revenue through ticket sales and related commercial activities.
Theatre also contributes to education and social development. It provides opportunities for young people to learn professional skills, explore social questions and engage with cultural heritage.
Therefore, treating the industry as a peripheral concern overlooks its potential contribution to employment, enterprise and the wider economy.
The problem is that practitioners cannot realise this potential without the right conditions.
When the state offers occasional assistance but fails to provide a predictable policy environment, the industry remains vulnerable. Individual artistes may continue to produce remarkable work, but their personal achievements cannot substitute for a functioning institutional system.
Lagos should therefore approach performing arts development as an economic and public-policy issue, not merely as a cultural obligation.
What a Sustainable Lagos Cultural Policy Should Deliver
The creative community needs a comprehensive policy that connects government support with practical outcomes.
First, the state should establish predictable funding arrangements for performing arts productions. Such support should operate through transparent criteria, professional assessment and clear reporting requirements.
Second, government should expand access to affordable performance facilities. Existing public venues should have clear operating arrangements, while partnerships with private operators could help increase the availability of suitable spaces.
Third, Lagos should develop incentives that encourage private investment in theatre productions and creative enterprises. This would help diversify funding beyond government grants and ceremonial engagements.
Professional development must also receive sustained attention. Training opportunities should cover both artistic and technical occupations, while institutions should work with practitioners to identify skills gaps and emerging industry needs.
Furthermore, a comprehensive policy should address intellectual property protection, cultural tourism and the development of indigenous theatre. Artists need the ability to protect their work, earn from their intellectual contributions and reach wider audiences.
Practitioners must also participate in policy design. Professional associations, theatre companies, independent artists, educational institutions and cultural organisations should have meaningful channels through which they can contribute to decisions affecting the sector.
Finally, the policy should establish measurable targets and survive changes in government.
Cultural development requires continuity. A programme that disappears when an administration leaves office cannot provide the stability that long-term investment demands.
The state must therefore connect its cultural objectives to institutional structures, budgetary provisions and regular performance assessments.
The Creative Community Must Demand Accountability
Government has a responsibility to create an enabling environment, but practitioners also have a role in shaping the future of their industry.
The creative community should not mistake ceremonial recognition for structural progress. A photograph with a political office-holder, an invitation to perform at a government event or a small grant may provide immediate benefits, but none should be confused with a comprehensive development programme.
Instead, professional associations and cultural organisations should ask candidates to explain their commitments.
What amount will government allocate to performing arts development? Which institutions will administer the funds? How will practitioners access public facilities? What safeguards will protect independent artists? How will the state measure the number of jobs, productions and businesses supported?
These questions can help distinguish general political statements from implementable proposals.
Moreover, the industry should insist on regular consultation and public reporting. Government programmes must be assessed against their stated objectives, not merely the announcements that accompany their launch.
Such scrutiny is particularly important during election campaigns, when political candidates have an opportunity to present their priorities and seek public support.
Lagos Must Give Its Artists More Than a Supporting Role
The concerns surrounding Hamzat’s National Theatre appearance ultimately point to a broader question about Lagos’s understanding of development.
The state has creative talent, commercial opportunities and a substantial cultural profile. Its music, films, theatre and other artistic expressions contribute to the way audiences within and outside Nigeria experience the city.
However, these advantages require deliberate public policy if they are to generate sustainable opportunities for practitioners and businesses.
Culture should not remain an attractive backdrop for political events. Nor should artistes be remembered only when government needs entertainment or ceremonial colour.
Instead, the performing arts should occupy a recognised place in the state’s economic and social development plans.
Hamzat’s campaign presentation at the National Theatre offered an opportunity to address this issue. The original commentary argues that the performing arts industry did not receive the attention it deserved, leaving practitioners with important questions about the future of cultural policy in Lagos.
Whether that omission was deliberate or accidental, the campaign season provides an opportunity to clarify the candidate’s position.
The creative community does not need sympathy alone. It needs accessible infrastructure, production financing, fair professional conditions, investment opportunities and a voice in policy decisions.
A refurbished National Theatre can provide an important foundation. However, its success must ultimately be measured by the people it serves and the creative activity it sustains.
Lagos should not settle for a cultural image that celebrates artistes on stage while excluding them from the policies and budgets that shape their livelihoods.
The political season may be another theatre of promises, but the performing arts industry needs something more enduring than applause.
It needs a place in the plan, a voice in the process and a fair share of the investment required to build its future.
