Obaseki calls for synergy, tact to sell Nigerian art, culture to foreigners

EDO State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has said his administration is carving a new direction for economic growth and development, anchored on maximising the state cultural heritage and tourism potential.

Obaseki said this at a dinner organised by the state government for the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stuart Symington and officials of the Smithsonian Museum of African Arts, at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Benin City.

The event held after the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, in conjunction with the National Commission for Museums and

Monuments (NCMM) and the state government, exhibited 10,000 royal photographs at the National Museum, Benin City.

Obaseki said the state government prioritised the promotion and exploitation of art and culture for the benefit of the people, while describing the new approach as being pioneered by a new set of actors, who, he said, were championing the course of Benin arts.

Ambassador Symington said Nigerians were endowed with gifts and culture to command influence in the world, but advised that it must define and set the parameters by itself, and not by others.