Workers accuse National Theatre boss, Tar Ukoh of working from ‘home’, four months after appointment

By ANNABEL UBOCHI

Four months after he was appointed as both Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria and the National Theatre, self-acclaimed Pan Africanist Comrade Tar Ukoh, who also has one album to his credit, has not spent more than 96 hours consecutively in Office as Chief Executive.

Daylight investigation revealed that the Jos Plateau State based artiste and former Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) staff who also had a stint as a reserved artiste of the National Troupe under the late theatre doyen Chief Hubert Ogunde only showed up for two days (48 hours) two weeks after he was reportedly appointed by President Muhammed Buhari on the recommendation of the suspended Secretary to the Federal Government Babachir Lawal and for another two days in June, 2017.

A competent source told our reporter that Comrade Tar Ukoh had informed staff during a meeting that he will prefer to be operating from Abuja ‘as his mandate as Chief Executive is to be Artistic Director of the National Theatre and National Troupe of Nigeria and not as Artistic Director of National Theatre and National Troupe of Iganmu’’.

According to the source ‘’he (Comrade Tar Ukoh) allegedly told us that he is free to operate from anywhere and that nobody can ask him to do otherwise. But the truth is that he is involved in the Zero Poverty Project that has former President Olusegun Obasanjo as Patron and that project is going to last for another three months.

The insider alleged that he has been using government resources and he is being paid salaries by government for working for an NGO. This is why he is in Abuja. It is not for any other reason.

We even heard that the Minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed queried him severally but he allegedly ignored the minister’s query and boasted to some of us in the Abuja office that the Minister cannot query him, as they are both appointees of the President.

So he has been in Abuja and has been touring his base in Jos where he has been visiting his former colleagues at NTA.

Problem is that it is our meagre overhead budgetary allocation that suffers. This is because he allegedly drew as much as N1.8 million naira as allowance and takes off, leaving the theatre to be run by junior staff who he constituted into committees. Now, things are going from bad to worse. No light at the theatre. No sense of direction. There is growing industrial disharmony. He is even allegedly at war with arts stakeholders like NANTAP and a union like RATTAWU.

He has been running both parastatals on telephone. Abusing or taking on anyone who dares to tell him what is right. We thought this was a government of change but it is now obvious that it is a government of destruction. They have brought Tar Ukoh to come and destroy what is left of the National Theatre and National Troupe.

We don’t even know why a Secretary to government will advice the President to appoint one man with no track record of related achievements to man institutions that have hitherto been run by two CEO’s ’’.

When Daylight visited the National Theatre shortly after the Eid El Kabir holidays, the once bubbly edifice appeared deserted. The few staff who reported as at 10am were seen discussing in hush tones under the almond trees scattered all over the sprawling entrance marked ‘C’.

When our reporter asked why they were all outside and not in their offices, one of them simply retorted ‘no light and once no light, no water and once no water, the toilet go dey smell and you can’t stay.

And our new oga no kuku send. E dey Abuja dey wear traditional attire up and down. See national theatre wey dey bubble before. People came here during the holidays and were disappointed. Even the National Troupe that should have filled the void is grounded just because of the ill-advised decision to hand over the headship of the two key cultural institutions to one man who is not on ground.

The theatre and the Troupe used to be headed by two CEO’s. But President Buhari has changed everything and this change is a bad change’.

At the main building, the office of the General Manager was firmly locked. The security personnel at the entrance leading to the office told our reporter that the General manager was not on seat and that they were not expecting him anytime soon. ‘’He has not been here since June and I don’t know when he is expected’’ he said.

Calls to the telephone number of the General Manager that this reporter sourced from a staff of the theatre was not picked after several attempts. But a staff who was introduced to this reporter as a trusted ally of the General Manager and who was simply referred to as ‘Comrade’ put up a stout defense for Comrade Tar Ukoh. According to him, all those complaining about the decision of the Artistic Director to operate from Abuja ‘are simply disgruntled elements who have refused to key into the vision of the revolutionary comrade’’.

In his words ‘’there is what is called management by objectives. Set your objectives and priorities right, delegate responsibilities and you don’t need to be here for things to work.  We are not complaining and there is no problem at all. The Comrade Artistic Director has put committees in place that are reporting to him on almost hourly basis.

In these days of ICT, you don’t have to converge in a place to meet. Directives can be conveyed on phone and meetings held via Skype. Like I said, those complaining are simply disgruntled elements. They better key in or the revolutionary train will leave them behind’’ he stated.

Meanwhile, all efforts made to reach Ukoh, for reactions before publishing proved abortive.