The second day of the International Arts and Crafts expo organised by the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) has been identified as a veritable global platform with a plethora of avenues for cultural exchange, understanding and business-to-business arena.
The second day which started with a business panel session on the theme Networking Nigerian Crafts to the World did not only showcase varieties of crafts and arts economy that Nigeria can leverage on but also created an avenue for countries and states in attendance to network and seal bilateral investment deals.
In two literary presentations, the Ogun State team to INAC were aesthetically painted a big picture of the state’s indigenous creative strength in the mind of the audiences by first showing a short documentary on the production of Adire and how the custodians and generations of tie and dye are keeping the business alive.
It also voiced on the digitalised platform created by the Governor Dapo Abiodun led administration has transform the way the adire business is promoted and marketed beyond the soil of Ogun State with the networking and B2B internet platform www.adireogun.com that made it easy for the stakeholders in the Adire business.
As if that is not enough, the team also presented a dance drama of how Adire is made from the beginning to the finished stage and cap the performance with the transformation and transition of Adire tire from the contemporary style to the present-day blends of cross-cultural trend.
To complete the adage that “he that works hard will also rest and enjoyed the work of his hands-the Ogun State hosted all and sundry to delicious indigenous snacks and foods, which include culinary delights like Ofada, Ikokore, Ota imoye, Kokoro, Robo Egba and Adun.
Like other export foods from across the globe, Ogun State also takes pride in joining the trend through the state different offerings that has taken national culinary stage already.
The highlight that Travelpulse&MICE captured was the Eyo masquerade dance that rounded off the fascinating presentation by the Ogun State team, who some of the audiences said that actually stole the show at the 15th edition of INAC.
Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary in the Ogun State’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Olusegun Olaotan, explained that the state was trying to develop its economy through mass production and exportation of adire fabric, inviting international community and investors alike to partner with the state in actualizing their dreams.
“As a state, we want to develop a different economy we can use to generate additional revenue for the people apart from that of the Federal Government and we see adire as a an avenue to make this happen, so we invite international investors to partner with us to develop this adire business.
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“We seek improved exportation of the product. Adire business is a big business in Ogun now, we want to develop adire production to be a major source of income for the state,” he said.
Olaotan noted that the state had been able to create an adire sales website where individuals could purchase the fabric online and in the last one year, thousands of transactions have been recorded since the creation of the website.
Earlier at the event, the Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Olusegun Runsewe, who acknowledge the genuineness and international acclaim the Adire trend has appreciated commended the Governor of Ogun State for giving promotion of Adire fabric a pride of place in the state economy, adding that INAC has also created a veritable platform for the 36 states in Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory leverage on and also build investment bridge with the foreign investors through participating embassies and countries’ representatives.
Runsewe added that the Adire economy can also be big within the country if schools are also mandated to use it as their uniform, saying that it would go a long way in developing the nation’s economy and promoting use of locally made fabrics and products.
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