Ambode inaugurates Joke Silva, Afolayan, others into Board of Arts, Culture

LAGOS State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, on Wednesday, inaugurated a Board of Arts and Culture, consisting notables such as Joke Silva, Kunle Afolayan and others.

Tribune Online learnt that this was meant to urge members to go all out and explore private sector support to nurture new talents and generate events for a sustainable development of the creative arts sector in the state.

Governor Ambode made the call while speaking at the inauguration of the board at the Banquet Hall, Lagos State.

The governor said though the state government, in the last 23 months, had covered a lot of ground in terms of design and structure of the arts and entertainment sector, so much still needed to be done if it must realise its goal to become a global hub for music, theatre and film.

“The commitment of our administration to harness the huge creative talents that abound in the state in the fields of arts, culture, entertainment and sports has never been in doubt. The ultimate goal is to use all of these to drive tourism, create employment and increase the contribution of the non-oil sector to the state’s Gross Domestic Product.

“The Council for Arts and Culture which we have just inaugurated has a huge responsibility to translate our vision in this regard to reality,” the governor said.

According to Governor Ambode, the board would, among other things, be expected to ensure the sustainable management of arts and culture facilities and infrastructure in the state and create a sustainable framework for the sector.

The governor, while urging the board members to generate local and international events to showcase and promote the state’s diverse talents in the field of creative arts, music, entertainment and sports, tasked them to promote and preserve the rich cultural heritage while being sensitive to the diverse cultures of the citizens of the state.

He said the state was currently leading the initiatives to transform the National Museum and the National Arts Theatre into world-class centres of history, tourism arts and entertainment, while construction work on the six arts theatres across the state had begun.