The Minister-designate of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has everything to do to transform the sector and further empower Nigeria’s army of creatives.
MINISTER-designate of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has her job cut out. Thankfully, she appears to appreciate the enormity of the task through a recent vision she outlined following her initial appointment as President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Culture and the Entertainment Economy.
Nigeria’s creative sector, which she will take charge of after her swearing-in tomorrow, appeared as the toast of previous administrations, that mouthed many platitudes about growing it but had little to show for it.
Categorised by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as comprising five sub-sectors; media and entertainment, beauty and lifestyle, visual arts, tourism and hospitality; it is projected to reach a valuation of $15 billion by 2025, a mere two years away.
Analysts and players in the creative sector all talk about its potential, but that’s what it has remained: talk. Well-thought-out policies, structures and support (financial and otherwise) that would boost its growth need to be more robust. The sector has grown mainly through the ingenuity and determination of the players who have shown the world that Nigeria is a powerhouse of creativity.
Corporate Nigeria, international organisations like the British Council and Goethe Institut and states like Lagos have also pitched in with their support, enabling the sector, which Jobberman says currently employs about 4.2 million people, to continue thriving.
Last month and as special adviser, Musawa unveiled a plan dubbed ‘Destination 20230’, which she explained aims to unify all the sectors in the creative space under a single vision. She said the initiative will cover different aspects of culture and entertainment to promote Nigeria’s cultural identity globally.
Musawa said, “Nigeria sits at an inflexion point where our global cultural impact is at an all-time high, combined with a new progressive administration, the time is now to support the talent and institutions that power the cultural, entertainment and creative economy.”
She further noted that the creative sector can catalyse growth and that implementing the plan would “substantially contribute to the country’s economic growth, meaningfully to national GDP and creating much-needed jobs for talented youth in the sector.”
But talk is cheap. How does Musawa intend to execute her plans? What will she do differently than her predecessors, who also talked, organised summits and established committees but with little results?
Musawa has no choice but to hit the ground running after her swearing-in. Enough of talk about potential and motion without movement. The creative players and Nigerians expect excellent execution of policies and plans for outstanding results. Players expect the government to do only some things; the least they expect is policies and support to make their work easier. Not overreaching agencies further stifling people’s creativity with draconian laws and levies or duplicating responsibilities that further confuse creatives. They want consultations and cooperation, not a prescriptive ministry or minister.
Ex-President the Association of Nollywood Core Producers (ANCOP), Alex Eyengho, surmised it this way. “I expect her to work closely with stakeholders in the various strata of the creative industries, particularly the Nollywood stratum, which is my primary constituency. These close engagements at all times with stakeholders in the creative industries will make her perform her duties most seamlessly and without qualms. I expect her to immediately get off the ground the much-awaited Motion Picture Council of Nigeria (MOPICON), which has been lingering for over 20 years now. MOPICON is very important for the needed coherence and professionalism in Nollywood.
“Our new minister should focus on the industries she is supervising and ensure that all the agencies under the ministry act within the extant laws that set them up and guide their operations. Some agencies during the outgone administration went outside the Act that established them, which is why such agencies still have cases in court with stakeholders in the industry.”
Eyengho also expressed satisfaction with President Tinubu’s separation of tourism from culture, noting that it is a welcome and well-thought-out development. Tourism is massive and, as such, should stand alone.”
For filmmaker and media entrepreneur Fidelis Duker, Musawa will do well to focus on policies that will grow the creative sector.
“I expect the new minister and Ministry to concentrate on promoting and preserving Nigerian arts, culture, and heritage while supporting and fostering creative industries’ growth. It is also important that the ministry considers developing policies that will promote Nigeria’s artistic and cultural diversity. One of the biggest challenges of Nigerian creatives is access to opportunities and resources, and I expect the new minister to consider this as it will help artists and creatives to flourish. The movie and music industries are big globally, and this is that opportunity for the new ministry to partner with other relevant ministries in promoting Nigerian art and culture to enhance tourism and foreign investment,” he said of his expectations.
The Abuja International Film Festival convener added: “The minister must, as a priority, develop a comprehensive strategy to preserve and promote Nigerian culture and heritage to implement policies that support the growth and sustainability of the creative economy.
“She must collaborate with other ministries like education, foreign affairs, orientation, and tourism to integrate culture into national development plans. The minister should create platforms and programmes to showcase and celebrate Nigerian talent both domestically and internationally while encouraging public-private partnerships to attract investments in the arts, culture, and creative industries.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the FAD Media Group also hailed the new government’s separation of tourism from culture, saying it’s long overdue. “I see it allowing for a more focused approach on developing the tourism sector independently from the culture industry. Tourism is big, and I think the unbundling is a welcome development.
“However, some may argue there might be concerns about a potential disconnect between culture and tourism, as they are often intertwined. Still, I have always argued that tourism deserves an independent status as this will create opportunities for both ministries to collaborate on projects that bridge culture and tourism.”
Stakeholders’ expectations are high. Musawa and her counterpart in the tourism ministry, Lola Ade-John, have it all to do. The unbundling of the ministries from that of information will enable them to focus on growing the sector with favourable policies that will help players.
Musawa has an arduous task which she will find enjoyable if she doesn’t ostracise the players in the industry and leverage their institutional memory and experiences.
and then