The federal government has declared that the creative, tourism and culture sectors are not just Nigeria’s new oil, but its new gold.
It said it was in realization of that fact that it had paid much attention to the three sectors in its bid to diversify Nigeria’s economy away from oil.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made this known on Tuesday while declaring open the United National World Tourism Organisation, UNWTO, Global Conference, held at the National Theatre in Lagos.
The theme of the conference is “Linking Tourism, Culture and the Creative Industries: Pathway to Recovery and Inclusive Development.”
His words: “On our part, we have long identified the creative industry, tourism and culture as sectors critical to the diversification of our nation’s economy away from oil. We regard the creative industry as the new oil. But now, when added to tourism and culture, we see these three sectors as not just the new oil, but also the new gold! This realization explains why we have paid much attention to the sectors.”
He said the government had given so much visibility to the cultural sector, hence the “successful campaign to repatriate our much-coveted artefacts, which were looted and taken to different parts of the world.”
He said hundreds of the timeless works of art were being repatriated to Nigeria, in a reflection of the successful campaign.
He added: “We have brought our creative industry to the front burner of our economy, highlighting the contributions of music, film, fashion, gastronomy, etc to the national economy. Of course, culture and creative industry are drivers of tourism. We have been resourceful in driving our Digital Switch Over (DSO) in broadcasting, knowing how critical this is to the creative industry. And we have breathed life into the hub of our arts and entertainment, the National Theatre, which is getting its first makeover in over 40 years, thanks to a collaboration between the Federal Government and the private sector, specifically the Bankers’ Committee, which has injected $100 million into the renovation efforts. The outcome is what you see today – an iconic edifice reclaiming its lost glory. And this is just the first phase. When completed, there will be four new hubs for music, film, fashion and IT – and a new dawn for cultural tourism, arts and entertainment.”
Speaking on the essence of the conference, Mohammed said, “this meeting provides an excellent opportunity to discuss ways and means to promote intra-Africa travels and tourism, leveraging on our vast and unique resources and our number, for mutual benefit to all member states. It is my expectation that this meeting will also serve as a platform towards establishing stronger linkages and functional collaboration among member states in order to realize the potentials which the continent is endowed with.
“This conference will equally provide the stakeholders the opportunity to discuss linkages and opportunities between tourism, cultural and the creative industry, and engage in business-focused discussions, with a view to initiating private sector-led growth and development of tourism and the creative Industry. It is also a platform to dialogue and engage with key industry personnel on the business of the creative sector, while addressing key issues affecting the sectors such as investment, capacity-building gaps, product development, marketing and digitalization; Intellectual property rights, piracy, education, poverty, power supply, security, access to finance, distribution infrastructure, technical competence, film content, multiple taxation and multi-level regulation, among others.”
