Runsewe advocates diversification option of Nigerian economy

The Director-General of the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC), Chief Olusegun Runsewe, has advocated for the diversification of the Nigerian economy.

Speaking during an interactive session with stakeholders in the arts, culture and tourism sector and members of the media, Otunba Runsewe noted that in the wake of the current economic realities and with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic globally, nations of the world are exploring various means of growing their economies.

According to him, the purpose of the meeting was to exchange views, opinions, knowledge and experiences on how this very important sector can be strengthened as a vehicle for creating wealth and driving sustainable economic development of Nigeria.

He observed that with the rich and diverse cultural resources of Nigeria and given the abundant tourism resources and the need to diversify the economy, the country had to look beyond crude oil which is the current major foreign exchange earner, and focus on arts, culture and tourism as one of the key players in the nation’s economic development.

The NCAC boss pointed out that the near total dependence on crude oil exportation as the source of the country’s foreign exchange earnings has greatly slowed down the pace of development in other sub-sectors of the economy such as Agro-Allied Industry, Manufacturing, Solid Minerals, and the service industry, among others.

“The progressive fall in the prices of petroleum products and its attendant shock on the economy of Nigeria has made it highly imperative for Nigeria to pursue a sustained process of economic diversification, if we must attain the much needed economic stability and development.”

He added that there is an intricate relationship between culture and tourism because culture provides the basic content for tourism.

There can be no sustainable tourism without a strong cultural content, Runsewe observed, adding that almost all tourism activities are culture based.

As the price of oil continues to fall, Nigeria’s economy has been badly affected, necessitating the need for the diversification to areas like tourism, art and culture, he said.

In the words of Runsewe, the forgoing goes to underscore the compelling need for diversification as the only way for a sustainable economic development in Nigeria.

“Nigeria is known to be one of the most culturally diversed nations of the world. It has over 250 distinct ethnic groups, each with unique culture and cultural products. The rich and diverse cultural assets of Nigeria have the capacity of sustaining a robust tourism industry and driving the process of socio-economic development if adequately explored.”

According to him “Nigeria has rich and fascinating cultural festivals. Many of these festivals are already in the world cultural map and are attracting the patronage of international audience. Some of the prominent festivals in Nigeria include Osun-Osogbo in Osun State, Eyo Festival in Lagos State, Argungu and Nwonyo Fishing Festivals in Kebbi and Taraba States respectively, Pus Kat and Bit Geomai Festivals in Plateau State, New Yam Festivals in various parts of South Eastern Nigeria, the Durbar in the Northern part of Nigeria, Boat Regatta in South-South and the National Festivals of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) the annual Cultural festival of the National Council for Arts and Culture.

“Apart from the effect of near total neglect the oil economy has had on other critical sectors, the fluctuation in the world prices of petroleum products has continued to pose great threat to the stability of our economy, thus making effective planning on a sustainable basis extremely difficult,”Runsewe said.

He gave examples of Tourism-rich economies like the United Kingdom, Israel, China and France which reveals a common and consistent pattern of Culture-based Tourism with Culture being the single biggest motivation for Tourism.

In Europe, he said the role of culture in development shows that the arts enrich the social environment with stimulating or pleasing public amenities, while in the same vein, China and Australia have underscored the fact that the Culture and Tourism Sector contributes to economic development by facilitating creativity, innovation and self-reflection and as such recognizes culture as a key component of society’s wellbeing.

It is high time for Nigeria to look beyond the oil economy and pursue diversification option and there is no better time than now most oil producing nations are diversifying into other areas like tourism and culture as it will make a whole lot of meaning for the country.

However, this is the time government at all levels should pump money made from crude oil into tourism and culture for sustainable growth and development of the country.

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