Meet Bolanle Austen-Peters, The First Nigerian Woman to Build a Private Theatre + Interview

Setting up a business in the art industry is no easy feat. It takes a lot of hard work, patience and dedication with the mass of people and personalities that come with it.

Making a name for yourself in this industry is even more difficult, as the setbacks and naysayers can be a bit discouraging, but this was not the case with Bolanle Austen-Peters.

With the tremendous growth of Terra Kulture came the growth of Bolanle’s involvement in the arts, she noticed that there was an absence of spaces and resources for artists, thespians and theatre enthusiasts to thrive and decided to do something about it. This gave rise to the birth of Terra Kulture Arena a 400-seater, state of the art theatre.

The theatre, which also doubles as a movie-screening venue, will host a range of shows, plays and musicals when it opens. It will also have the challenging role of providing Lagos, its environs, and Nigeria as a whole with a wide schedule of theatre, comedy, music and dance.

Thanks to the determination of Bolanle, the arts and culture industry has entered a revolutionary era and will never be the same again with the opening of Terra Kulture Arena come March 19, 2017 at 1376 Tiamiyu Savage Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Born into the family of Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), Bolanle started out as a lawyer in her father’s firm and then proceeded to work with the United Nations. Her specialty in International Law was not relevant in Nigeria when she moved back in 2003 so she decided to follow her passion in theatre and literature.

She started Terra Kulture with a vision to create an artistic space to celebrate Nigeria’s music, literary arts, food and clothing, a space that would capture the essence of Nigeria’s culture and would be accessible to locals and foreigners alike.

Read her Interview by Sam Umukoro

Interview: What is your greatest ambition?

Bolanle Austen-Peters: I am going to build a theatre by the grace of God, a nice 400-seater theatre that would give enough room to stage good productions, with proper technology, a place where Nigerians could come to relax and have a good time. I also want to produce plays on a regular basis that would allow us to shine on the global stage. That is the only thing I want to be doing now, but to be quite honest, even if i don’t do it, I am happy with where I am today.

 Interview: What is your advice to young women in Nigeria and Africa who see a lot of obstacles on their way to achieving their dreams?

Bolanle Austen-Peters: The first thing is that, people have to work on themselves. Another thing is that a lot of us don’t read or expose ourselves to other cultures and other people. When you live in a cage, you can’t see anything else other than that cage. You are moulded by your circumstance and your environment.

But it is also very important that you open up to the world and see people who have different views from your stand point. Honestly speaking, if I was raised in Nigeria and never had the privileges and opportunities to mix with other people, like I have done, I probably won’t be where I am today, because that has allowed me to fly.

I have seen people who are equals with their husbands; there is no rocket science to it. I have seen women who own bigger and stronger businesses.

So it is absolutely important that a woman develops herself. You shouldn’t wait for society or for family, you have to invest in yourself and I think the greatest platform for doing that is reading a lot. You have to read and get into people’s minds through books if you do not have the opportunity to travel. It is so critical because everything starts from the mind. Once your mind is small, there is nothing anybody can do to help you. You have to free your mind of cobwebs and fear if you want to achieve something.

That’s why I think not only religion is important. Faith is important too. Faith allows you to shake away fear. Once you have faith, you’ll recognise that, at the end of the day, there’s just nothing to be fearful of. You never know what you could have achieved if you didn’t try and that is my attitude, I try everything. If you try it and you fail, you get up and you continue.

Interview: Are you then an advocate for equal opportunity?

Bolanle Austen-Peters: Yes, I am. I also studied human rights and I’m an advocate of treating everybody as equal. Nigerians should understand that equality is not based on gender or vanities. It is sickening sometimes to hear how some Nigerians refer to people who have money, it is not about the wealth you generate; it is about the quality of the individual that you are. We are all equals. I have people who work for me that I respect so much and I also know people with so much wealth that I have no regard for. So, it is a quality of the human being.

 

Interview: You once worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), how was the experience?

Bolanle Austen-Peters: I actually worked with various organisations within the United Nations (UN) system, including the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The UNDP was my last job. In UNDP, I learnt about putting things together. We worked within frameworks most of the time, so everything was highly contextualized, which had its own benefits, but it also had its own drawbacks.

 

 Interview: Having worked with the UN and seen people living in extreme poverty and suffering in refugee camps, one will expect that, upon your return to Nigeria, you would be more involved championing the cause of the poor masses…

Bolanle Austen-Peters: I think that is a fair point. For me, my experience with the UN was a moment in time. It was something that I did in my 20s. In Nigeria, we don’t have that many NGO’s or organisations involved in things like this, or rather, I didn’t go out to look for them when I got back home, because I honestly did not know what I wanted to do as well. But then, doing refugee and poverty alleviation work on a sustainable basis demanded a lot emotionally and physically.

I told myself that whatever I did on returning to Nigeria was going to add value to people. Now, you can add value in various forms; by working with the homeless on the streets of Lagos, teaching in schools, creating jobs for artistes, and creating a platform for people to use to express themselves.

This was what I found myself doing eventually. I could have worked in any other organization, but I chose to do this because I felt that I had to give back. I wasn’t also doing this because I had a higher calling or anything like that; it was just part of me. I wanted to do something that would impact my society. It was tough at the beginning but I am grateful that I have done it so far.

Interview: Don’t you think the government has a critical role to play, in terms of shaping the way we look at our culture?

Bolanle Austen-Peters: It is obvious that if the government was doing what it was supposed to be doing, we will be economically, socially and culturally developed. But we are not, simply because we have had governments over the years that have not done the right thing. The private sector is the major thing that drives Nigeria.

If Terra Kulture had waited for the government, we wouldn’t be where we are today. They should be funding us. We don’t even ask them for a thing. If Nollywood waited for government they won’t be where they are today.  If all our writers waited for government grant to write their stories, would they be where we are today?

Interview: You believe in moulding the lives of children as a sure way of adding value to the society, how successful has this been for you?

Bolanle Austen-Peters: It has been fulfilling for me. Let’s put it that way, although I don’t teach Sunday school anymore because I’m always on the move, majority of the kids that I taught in Sunday school have graduated from the university today. When I look at them, I just smile because I remember how little they were then, how very little they knew in terms of the Bible, and where they are today as human beings. It is same thing for our nation, art, and everything. Those who have gone ahead need to invest, that’s the problem we have, no one is investing.

When I look back at Terra Kulture and see some of the people that have gone through it, I am actually emotional because I see people now who are stars, some are on radio, others on television; some and directors, people who came in green and all of them now have their cast and crews. I just thank God because He has created something through me. I am very grateful. For me, that is the joy.

 

 Interview: How does society and cultural background affect the role of women?

Bolanle Austen-Peters: People come with prejudices; unfortunately you cannot address everybody’s issues. I have a very progressive husband who is very international in his outlook and I raise my son and daughter in the same way. We are equals, male and females are equals. The same way I gave birth to my daughter was the same way I gave birth to my son. Every other advantage men think they have in the society is imposed by the society, culture and religion.

To be quite candid, I don’t believe in that and I don’t allow anyone to impose it on me. So when some people tell me, ‘your culture has made you the way you are’, it depends on what you are willing to accept as well.

When people (sometimes even foreigners too, surprisingly) come to Terra Kulture, they expect that it is a man that owns the establishment. For example; a German guy came and told me he wanted to see the oga. I said I could only present myself. He was so embarrassed and said, “Oh no! Nigeria has affected me….” You get my point? It is what you allow to affect you. To an extent, it is a male dominated society; although the present government of President Goodluck Jonathan has been quite pro-women, in that key ministers’ portfolios are run by mostly women. But again, I also think that women have a greater role to play. One should only accept what one thinks is right. If you don’t feel it is right, then don’t take it. That is how I feel. But then, some might say I am a bit militant in my views.