Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hanatu Musawa, says the Federal Government is prepared to partner with the 36 states of the federation as well as the private sector to achieve its target of hitting a $100 billion economy.
Musawa made the remarks in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while being hosted by Chief Lai Labode, a cultural entrepreneur and chief executive officer of Lai Labode Heritage Foundation.
Labode is the chief promoter of ‘Egbaliganza’, a cultural reawakening movement about the fashion sense of the Egba people.
Musawa disclosed that a memo has already been approved by the Federal Executive Council to identify all the cultural values and unique peculiarities of all the states to boost the economy through cultural creativity.
This was as Labode also expressed the foundation’s readiness to collaborate with the Federal Government to tap into the $500 billion fashion economy in Africa.
He disclosed that Egba land would host a Fashion Olympics in 2026, which will involve participation of about 50 countries in Africa.
Labode lamented that Africa has only a 1.2% share of the global fashion market of $30 billion, and that Egbaland is ready to lead Africa to a $500 billion fashion economy.
He said: “We have decided to create new first for Egbaland and in a bid to do this, we established the Egba fashion celebration, tagged Egbaliganza and that was made possible by Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, who stood firmly with us against all odds.
“Today, Africa has only 1.2% of the global fashion market, which is about $30 billion, and with what we have in Africa, Africa can do much better.
“The Egbas have decided once again, as a cradle of many firsts, to lead Africa to a $500 billion fashion economy. But when we say $500 billion, it means that there is a lot of work to do.
“In 2026, (may) God give us life, good health and more resources, (during) Egbaliganza 2026 to be led by Oba Gbadebo, we will sign historic charters in Egbaland to lead us to where we need to go.
“We will sign a Confederation of Africa fashion charter, we will sign the Nigeria Fashion Federation and for the first time in the history of the world, there will be a fashion Olympics and it will be called the Africa Fashion Olympics, and the charter will be signed here in Egbaland.”
The Executive Director of Administration and projects of the foundation, Chief Abdulhakeem Owolabi, solicited for the support of the minister to build a National Cultural Heritage Museum under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework.
Owolabi said that the initiative aims to preserve, showcase, and promote the nation’s vast and diverse cultural heritage while stimulating tourism, education, and economic development.
Musawa also expressed the federal government’s readiness, through her ministry, to partner Ogun State and the Lai Labode Heritage Foundation on the proposed Fashion Olympics with the aim of hitting the $100bn economy billion target of the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy.
She commended the foundation for organising the maiden fashion extravaganza tagged ‘Egbaliganza’.
She said, “It is the mission of President Bola Tinubu to see that we are not only partners as one entity, but one country strengthened to propagate and to push our culture forward and see how we can have economic growth through cultural creativity and tourism. And the best way we can do that is if we do not work in silos; we all work together and bring ideas together with private sector entities.
“The Federal Executive Council and the NEC have already approved the memo that I talked about, asking that we partner, and the president has already announced the Renewed Hope Culture Programme, where every single culture in villages will be captured as well as the unique peculiarity of that state.
“And when you come to Ogun State, you have to look at Egbaliganza, and this is one of the ways we can capture the unique peculiarity to see that the federal and state governments partner together with private entities, making sure that we push forward the economic growth and hit a target of $100 billion that my ministry is looking forward to and $1 trillion that the president is looking forward to.
“Governor Dapo Abiodun at the event reiterated the state’s focus on becoming not just Nigeria’s education and industrial capital, but also its tourism capital.”
Represented by his deputy, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, the governor said his administration made it mandatory for civil servants in the state to wear Adire on Fridays in order to give the local fabric more prominence and boost the economic empowerment of Adire makers and merchants.
He said that the decision of his administration has grown the economic value of Adire and created job opportunities for many people in the state.
In his goodwill message, a former Governor of the State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, praised the organisers of Egbaliganza for promoting Egba culture and heritage on a global stage.
The Alake and paramount ruler of Egba land, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo also lauded the foresight of the foundation to put to global reckoning the rich cultural heritage of Egba people pledging his support and that of other sons and daughters of Egba land to the success of the cultural promotion.
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