President Bola Tinubu has renamed the National Arts Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos, after Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.

Tinubu made the announcement in a birthday message to the Nobel laureate who turns 90 on July 13. “It is also fitting we celebrate this national treasure while he is still with us.

I am, accordingly, delighted to announce the decision of the Federal Government to rename the National Theatre in Iganmu, Surulere, as the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts.

We do not only celebrate Soyinka’s remarkable literary achievements but also his unwavering dedication to the values of human dignity and justice. Professor Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Literature Prize in 1986, deserves all the accolades as he marks the milestone of 90 years on earth.

Having beaten prostate cancer, this milestone is a fitting testament to his ruggedness as a person and the significance of his work.