Potential in cultural sector will create millions of jobs, end kidnapping —Lai Mohammed, NICO

THE Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), have declared that the potentials in Nigeria’s Cultural sector is capable of creating millions of employments and curb the spate of kidnapping, armed robbery and ritual killings, in the country.

The Minister and the Executive Secretary, NICO, Mr. Louis Eriomala gave this position, even as the agency have put in place various strategies to improve workers’ productivity in readiness for the tasks ahead.

Speaking at a 2-day workshop on repositioning Nigerian Cultural Workers for improved productivity, Alhaji Mohammed and Mr. Eriomala, said the Federal Government is already providing the enabling environment and called on the private sector to tap into the potentials provide by the culture industry to reduce unemployment and end many of the vices bedeviling the country.

According to the NICO Executive Secretary, the spate of kidnapping, Armed robbery and ritual killings would drastically go down if the private sector invest in the industry to create decent jobs and ensure dignity of labour.

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“Government is to provide the enabling environment and it is trying in doing this. It is private sector driving but the private sector is not driving culture the way it should be driving. The private sector is not tapping into it, it is just an entertainment.

“There are other cultural industry they should actually promote, the artifacts and the rest of them, they are not promoting them. If you look at the country today, the greater part of the economy is the entertainment culture. In fact, today, I don’t think there is part of the economic that is as rich as culture.

“We have been told recently where a musician bought a N45 million car for his girlfriend. If we explore the area of cultural creative industries, even canoe making and the rest, if we explore all these properly and go back to our cultural industry, we can actually provide millions of unemployment.

“Another problem we have today about our youth is the get rich quick syndrome, because there is no dignity of Labour, people are in hurry to make money and they are looking for the easy ways to make money. You can see the kidnapping going on, armed robbery and ritual money. If we are able to go back to our culture where there are dignity of labour, where people strive and grow gradually, and both the government and private sector tap into it, then we can eradicate kidnapping and get youths to work.” The NICO Executive Secretary said.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed noted that the sector has been identified as one of the key drivers for economic growth in tandem with global trends, hence the urgent need to recreate culture to serve as a viable alternative to oil as the mainstay of our economy.

The minister said: “The relationship between culture and economic development cannot be over emphasized as studies have shown that culture is a major pillar of sustainable economic development. The economic impact of the contribution of Arts and Culture to the global economy is so enormous that countries that continue to neglect culture as the driver and enabler of the socio-economic growth do so at their own detriment.”

In this regard, the minister said it is of critical importance that cultural officers are adequately trained and equipped to come to terms with the professional demands and challenges of a modern economy with culture as the fulcrum of the government economic diversification policy.

He pointed out that the capacity building programme was designed to keep cultural officers at the federal and state levels abreast with contemporary realities in the culture sector, enhance their professional skills and competence for effective service delivery.

According to the minister, the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture places high premium on training and re-training of cultural officers because of their invaluable importance in the diversification of the nation’s economy through culture.

As part of the strategies put in place to reposition the the industry and the workers for optimum performance, Mr. Eriomala NICO has over the years done embarked on the promotion of Nigerian culture through its orientation, public enlightenment and training programmes.

These, according to him include seminar, workshops, conferences, establishment of cultural clubs in secondary schools; and most importantly, through its institute running a training school for award of Diploma and Post Graduate Diploma in Cultural Administration. The Post Graduate Diploma programme is affiliated with the Nasarawa State University, Keffi.

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