National Summit on Culture, Tourism

in Abuja this Week

A National Summit on Culture and Tourism will be convened by the ministry of Information and Culture in Abuja this week. According to minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Wednesday, April 27 till Friday, April 29 will be set aside to chart a course for Nigeria’s creative industry and tourism sector.

He said, “We are aware that similar efforts have been made in the past, without an appreciable result. The difference this time is our commitment and the different milieu provided by the national imperative to diversify the economy, amidst the crash in the price of oil.”

The minister disclosed plans to work with various local and international partners, including the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the British Council in mapping Nigeria’s creative arts. This would include pottery, weaving, dyeing and sculpturing. This will help in creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, become money spinners for the economy and stem the rural-urban migration, he explained.

“We are not re-inventing the wheel, since the creative industry has always been with us. What we are doing is to breathe life into the industry and allow it to become a major player in national development,” Mohammed said.

The Information and Culture minister also revealed plans to train festival managers and also involve local communities as critical stakeholders in the culture and tourism sectors.

“We are aware that culture drives tourism, hence we intend to leverage heavily on our numerous cultural festivals in our efforts to boost tourist arrivals.”