That is what Politicaleconomistng.com is exclusively reporting. Find report below… Barely one year after Nigerians stopped him from turning the National Theatre into a hotel, the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Edem Duke, secretly jetted off the country to the United Arab Emirates, UAE, where he traded off the nation’s cultural pride to Mulk Holding, a diversified UAE-based conglomerate with interests in retail sector and other businesses. Please continue…
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.
According to GulfAfrica Review, in its December 10, 2014 edition, Sharjah’s Mulk Holdings, a diversified UAE-based business conglomerate, “has announced its entry into the retail sector in West Africa through a $40m joint venture to develop Nigeria’s National Arts Theatre in Lagos into a duty-free shopping centre in partnership with the Suzanne Group.
“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,” said Kabir Yaradua, CEO of the National theatre.
The report continues: “The National Theatre has been the hub of cultural activities in Nigeria since 1976, and this will kick-start a master re-development programme for this area.”
The report 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.”
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.
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.”
Arif Hafiz, Managing Director of Suzanne Group, praised the “milestone contract” Mulk Holdings as “one of the major global business groups in the UAE”, while Shaji Ul Mulk, chairman, Mulk Holdings, elaborating on the details of the project, noted that is expected to be completed in 2016.
“Mulk Holdings is adopting aggressive strategies to expand its core business, involving serious investment into existing businesses and diversification into sustainable industries,” Ul Mulk added.
According to a report by audit firm Ernst&Young, Africa’s retail and consumer sector received about 17% of all foreign direct investment that came into the continent in 2013.
Mulk Holdings and its joint venture partners own and manage a group of 20 companies with a sector focus on construction and fit-out manufacturing, as well as diversified business interests in trading, commodities, real estate and energy, spread across 48 countries.
Based in Dubai, the Suzanne Group caters to duty free shopping outlets in international airports and seaports, and is a registered supplier of services to the offices of the United Nations.
Though the theatre had been a victim of public sector incompetence, its final descent into the ignoble hall of shame of failed public institutions started in 2001 when the Obasanjo civilian government served notice of its intent to privatize the monument. Converting a public institution into a successful private enterprise has never captured the fancy of Nigerians. Many of such previous attempts at privatization of public institutions have failed and the case of the National Theatre was not different. Between 2001 and now, the theatre has remained a mere ball for government ping-ponging. It is yet to be sold or concessioned, worst still the federal government which is the original owner of the facility is behaving as though it is the least of its worries: unserious.
A staff of the theatre told our correspondent that the employees are more confused than anybody. ”We don’t know our fate. Today we hear they want to privatize it and build a 5-star hotel here, tomorrow we hear a different story. This is confusing and it is affecting our morale and commitment because nobody, not even our senior staff can say categorically that this is the true situation of things.
“We believe the management of the theatre is doing this deliberately to give the impression that the theatre cannot function effectively if left in the hand of government. We believe it is a cheap way to arm-twist government to sell the national pride. But some of us have travelled far and wide and we have seen equivalent institutions in other countries being managed by the public sector and they are efficient”.
Political Economist investigation showed that the theatre has become a victim of power play orchestrated by the Tourism Minister, Edem Duke, in concert with the General Manager of the Theatre, Mallam Kabiru Yar’Adua both of whom, stakeholders allege, are intent on disposing of the national monument for peanuts. The Theatre, they argue, was set up by a decree just like the National Troupe and other parastatals of the Ministry of Tourism and they see no reason why it should be sold off on the whims of a minister and a manager. They cited the case of the United States where certain monuments are still held in custody of government.
For instance, the United States government enacted a law in 1846 to support and preserve the Smithsonian Institution and its 19 museums across the country. In UK, the Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company are publicly funded theatre outlets and they are still relevant till this day. The case of the National Theatre cannot be an exception, they warned.
http://www.clemmag.com/nigerian-minister-secretly-sells-off-national-theatre-uae-company/
February 25, 2015, 01:01:33 AM