The rape of Oba Akenzua 11 Cultural Centre

Located in downtown Benin City on Airport Road, just a stone throw from the popular Ring Road, what was designed by Prof. Demas Nwoko to be the premier venue for plays, video debuts and other performances when it was conceived in the’70s has ironically been turned into a den of dope dealers, marijuana smokers, ground nut sellers, food vendors, motor park thugs, night commercial sex workers, drivers, bread hawkers, a urinary and refuse dump.

Before a market sprung up at the sprawling premises in January 2017 following Obaseki’s decision to turn it to a motor park, it also hosted weddings, symposia and other events when it was eventually completed after a very long time at the turn of the century.

Drawing upon traditional Benin city aristocratic architecture in colour, the exterior which is an imitation of the local reddish clay in a cast sand concrete of Nwoko’s own devising (a mix of cement, sand, and pebble-filled lateritic soil) with its horizontal ridges, a royal privilege which the Oba grants many of his chiefs, its shape, however, departs sharply from the rectilinear courtyard compounds of the Benin, favoring a semicircle that follows the curve of the theatre’s seating.

Nwoko originally designed the building as a University of Benin theatre in 1972 but it ultimately became a government-funded civic structure that opened in 1993. It was originally named after the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha until it was renamed after Omo N’Oba Akenzua 11 by former Governor Lucky Igbinedion.

Sitting between 200 to 700 people, depending on whether the forestage and orchestra pit are in use, the edifice two stories accommodate highly pitched seating as well as two roomy hallways sometimes used for exhibitions.

Nwoko added exterior textural interest through window screening that alternates panels of vertically-oriented staggered rectangles with others consisting of diamond patterns. The staircase and select small areas of the exterior are enclosed by concrete openwork, and passive cooling aspects are incorporated, although the building is also air-conditioned.

Nwoko’s building which remained as some of the few major Nigerian structures that draw visible inspiration from earlier traditions within the country and was one of the major assets bequeathed to Edo State when Delta State was excised from Bendel state in 1991, is currently in limbo.

The building which before now housed the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora was ceded to the Benin monarch by immediate past former Governor Adams Oshiomhole for 30 years for the purpose of upgrading it to an international standard as it was no longer yielding the expected revenue due to low patronage.

In his quest for urban renewal, give a facelift to the metropolis and restore sanity to the famous King Square for easy flow of traffic, the governor had designated the cultural centre as a temporal  bus terminal point

But almost two years after, the deterioration is cause for serious  concern and many have stated that something urgent has to been done to salvage the situation if the objectives of its creation must be met.

From being a tourist centre where people from all over the world were supposed to visit and see the world famous artifacts of the Benin Empire, it is presently a shadow of itself. The purpose of the establishment has no doubt been defeated.

The President, Benin Cultural Heritage Centre, Squadron Leader Ighile, while expressing disappointment over the present status of the Oba Akenzua Cultural Centre said the place has since been concessioned out by the state government

“But we already have facts emerging, a lot of people don’t know what is happening. The place has since been concessioned out by the government,” he stated, urging the contracting firm handling the ongoing construction at the various bus terminal stations within the king square axis to hasten up work to allow for quick renovation of the place

Speaking in the same vein, the founder, Foundation For Good Governance and Social Justice, Comrade Austin Osakwe decried the present status of the cultural centre was a stigma on the Benin cultural heritage.  “What we have now is a car park. I don’t know why people still call it a cultural centre. It is a central car park. The buildings have become dilapidated; there is nothing cultural about the place.

“There are no Benin artifacts there, nothing to attract tourists there. The Benin Cultural Centre is as important as the palace of the Oba of Benin. Its represents the citadel of the display of the totality of the cultural artifacts that made Benin what it is. We can conveniently say we don’t have a cultural centre right now. We used to have one which was in the process of being modernized. Even then, we do call on government that beyond just having a building, that they should make the cultural Centre a place the Benin people can be proud of,” he stated.

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He therefore called on the state government, the Benin traditional institution to take urgent steps to remedy the image of the cultural heritage

The commissioner for Art, Culture , Tourism and Diaspora, Mr. Osaze Osemwegie-Ero insisted that the building is no longer within the purview of the state government

“It is now under the control of Benin Traditional Council. They intend to upgrade the cultural centre from its present status to an international event centre,” he said and pleaded with the people to bear with the state government, adding as it has concluded plans to purchase mini buses and relocate the motor park moment to the bus terminal stations at Ring Road before the end of the year once construction work is finished.

“So when they are completed, these rickety buses will no longer ply the roads in Benin City. Government has made plans to buy mini buses, Edo people should bear with us,” he assured.

A cab driver who simply gave his name as Esosa bemoaned the level of deterioration of facilities at the edifice. From the broken interlocking tiles to the building being turned into home for reptiles and people defecating inside, it will certainly take a fortune to restore it.

Sighing deeply at the sorry state, Esosa, an Auchi Polytechnic Business Administration graduate said that some hoodlums vandalized the air conditioner and will sure take a fortune to regain the lost glory. “I am still trying to figure out the reason for the decision. It was not a wise decision. It is true that drivers and traders are very dirty and unruly. So much money will definitely be needed to bring the cultural centre to its old glory,” he said.