
Nigerian Government has sought for collaboration with the United Kingdom (UK) on cultural development. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who called for the assistance from the United Kingdom to develop abundant cultural heritages lying fallow in the country, says culture industry is key in diversifying Nigeria’s economy.
He made this call in Abuja when the Country Director of the British Council in Nigeria, Connie Price paid him a courtesy visit in his office recently. He noted that the lack of passion from past administrations contributed to the failure of the creativity industry in Nigeria. He maintained that partnership between the two countries would go a long way in boosting the cultural integration for growth and development of the country.
According to him, “Nigeria is endowed with tourist resources, both natural and man-made, yet it has not been able to adequately satisfy tourist’s demands.” He described as very glaring the fact that Nigeria’s culture and tourism is faced with problems being weak, due to the fact that a greater percentage of cultural leaders and Nigeria’s population lack recreation culture.
The Minister further said that one area that the country has little capital investment is in the area of culture, explaining that what the Government is doing right now is to annex these abundant cultural heritage to boost the economy. “There is virtually no state in Nigeria today that cannot boast of three, four or five cultural industries, either pottery, painting, textile making or leather works,” he said.
Lai Mohammed identified inadequate knowledge and the incapacity to translate the nation’s abundant cultural heritage into a viable economy as the bane of the sector, and therefore sought the assistance of the British Council to support his Ministry to surmount the challenges.
According to him, this is one area which he believes the British Council can assist the country through capacity building or provision of infrastructure. He noted that more paramount is the organisational aspect of how these things ought to work in a cooperative manner. The Minister demanded for support from the British Council towards assisting the agencies under his ministry to rediscover their capacity and revive the cultural industry as a major source of revenue for the nation.
Earlier in her remarks, the Country Director of the British Council in Nigeria, Connie Price noted that the diversification of the economy has been a huge challenge in Britain because of the country’s over-reliance on industries. Adding, Nigeria is a blessed nation, but it can only make lasting impact on the world, if Nigerians appreciate their culture and make tourist sites attractive to the world.
Connie Price inferred that her country has now turned its thinking away from mono -economic dependence by giving vent to its culture and creative industries, which are now bringing billions of pounds into the British economy. She further expressed satisfaction with the determination of the Minister to use the culture and creative industry to empower women, saying the British Council is extremely committed to supporting women empowerment. [FMI]
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