Nigeria’s new Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, has promised to ensure the return of national artifacts, such as the Benin bronze, looted by the country’s former colonial masters and others.

Musawa spoke at her maiden interactive session where she unveiled an Eight-Point Agenda to stakeholders in the sector at the Art and Tech District in Abuja.

The minister said she was planning to make the country the creative, cultural and entertainment capital of the world.

According to her, as mandated by the Presidency and other creative Nigerians, the ministry under her watch will create jobs and make more revenue through a strong policy framework.

She said: “A strong creative and cultural economy is a key driver of growth and presents an opportunity to accelerate the country’s development on a local and a global stage.

“The creative is an economy of ideas, an economy of innovation, and an economy of invention in the digital age. The scope of this sector is extensive and encompasses the production and distribution of ideas, goods and services that are the result of human creativity, skill, and talent across all aspects of Nigerian culture.

“Our culture is a valuable currency. Creativity is the new oil, and innovation is our future.

Laying out her agenda, Musawa said: “Firstly, Nigeria Destination 2030 is a national initiative designed to grow the arts, culture and creative economy under one united vision. Nigeria Destination 2030 is a manifesto, a mission and a vision to become Africa’s creative capital. Most importantly, it’s a promise to deliver more jobs, more inbound visitors, and more local opportunities that will enhance the development of creative sectors.”

“Therefore, skills development will be prioritized through comprehensive training programmes to accelerate growth of the creative economy. This means we need to prioritize and fast-track the improvement, creation and implementation of policy frameworks that effectively stimulate increased revenue generation, job creation, and sustainable growth across the entire sector.

“A key part of that strategy is Intellectual Property Protection to safeguard the creations of artists and content creators, fostering innovation and creativity.

“Our collective success requires focused strategy, governance, and collaboration. Our team is developing a comprehensive and effective strategy for the arts, culture, and creative economy. Within this strategy, we will clearly outline our objectives, targets, and actions for sectoral growth and development.”

The implementation of the plan, she promised, would be underpinned by a cohesive governance structure that would foster collaboration among government agencies, private sector entities, academia, and artists to drive growth.

Source: The Nation