THE Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says promoting Nigerian dress culture will advance the nation’s socio-political, economic benefits and cultural diplomacy.
Mohammed stated this in Minna on Tuesday at a two-day national workshop on, “Nigerian Dress Culture and sustainable Economic Development,” organised by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO).
“We cannot seriously talk about sustainable development without culture, development plans and strategies are known to have failed because the cultural dimension was ignored,” he said.
He said that Nigerian dresses fall under the cultural and creative industry, adding that the sector was one of the fastest growing sectors in the global economy.
“This sector has the capacity of generating employment, create wealth and alleviate poverty,” he said.
Represented by Dr Gerald Adewale, Mohammed said that the cultural and creative industry could achieve its goals if Nigerians patronise Made-in-Nigeria dresses with less preference to foreign clothes.
“This will no doubt help in resuscitating many moribund textile companies that hitherto provided employment for footballers through the football clubs they founded and funded,” he said.
Similarly, NICO’s Executive Secretary, Dr Barclays Foubiri said that the institute had the mandate of giving a sense of cultural direction for the country’s populace.
“Nigerians through dress culture, showcases the beauty in diversity of the culture of various geo-political zones of the country.
“Through dress culture, unity among the different ethnic groups is encouraged and economic growth of our local textile industries will be boosted,” he said.
Also, Mr Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, Chairman, House Committee on Culture and Tourism, said that the lawmakers would continue to advocate for more funding for the culture sector.
“We are ready to give legislative backing to any bill aimed at repositioning the culture and tourism sectors,” he said.
Earlier, Gov Abubakar Bello of Niger said all hand must be on deck so that Nigeria’s cultural heritage would not go into oblivion.
Represented by Mr Jonathan Vatsa, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Bello also urged participants to visit tourist sites in the state.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that students in various schools in Minna wore different traditional attires representing different Nigerian culture.
Highlight of the event included a drama presentation by the students to show case the state’s cultural heritage.
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