Nigerian arts minister unveils development plan

This announcement follows a recent press conference where Musawa highlighted her commitment to implement a national strategy that aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s goal of doubling Nigeria’s GDP to $1 trillion in eight years. She stressed Afrobeats and Nollywood as essential components of modern pop culture.

The plan, outlined in a statement released by her office, comprises a range of strategic initiatives designed to drive innovation and development within Nigeria’s cultural and creative industries (CCIs).

It focuses on skills development, enhanced policies and collaboration to boost Nigeria’s creative economy. It aims to elevate the CCIs to global top-20 status by 2050, prioritise digital integration, and safeguard cultural heritage for tourism and economic growth.

The eight points are:

• Nigeria destination 2030: An ambitious national initiative to foster growth in arts, culture, and the creative economy under a unified vision.
• Skills development: Prioritising comprehensive training programmes to equip professionals within the sector for excellence in their respective fields.
• Policy framework enhancement: Expediting the creation and implementation of policies that stimulate revenue generation, job creation and sustainable growth. This includes a focus on intellectual property protection to support artists and content creators.
• Focused strategy and collaboration: Developing a comprehensive and effective strategy for the arts, culture and creative economy to enhance collective success.
• Public-private partnerships: Facilitating partnerships that drive investment, infrastructure development, technology and innovation hubs.
• Global industry ranking: Aiming to elevate Nigeria’s art, culture and creative industries to be among the world’s top 20 in terms of GDP contribution, employment and poverty reduction by 2050.
• Enabling business environments: Prioritising infrastructural development aided by digital transformation to integrate arts, culture and creative content onto digital platforms.
• Cultural heritage preservation: Focusing on safeguarding Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage while fostering tourism and economic growth through initiatives that celebrate and preserve heritage.

Prior to her ministerial post, Musawa served as a special advisor on culture and the entertainment economy. She is currently embroiled in a scandal about her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) status. The controversy began three years ago when Musawa faced challenges proving her national service during a screening process under former President Muhammadu Buhari. In Nigeria, university graduates are required to take part in the mandatory NYSC, a programme that has been around since 1973 and is aimed at national-building and the development of the country.