The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, has explained why his ministry is partnering with Tony Elumelu
Foundation, saying it will help to re-position the Creative Industries in
Nigeria, reports ITRealms.
Disclosing this at a ceremony for the signing of the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry and the Foundation in
Lagos on Tuesday, the Minister expressed the strong belief that the
collaboration will be the much-needed catalyst to transform the country's
Creative Industries to a Creative Economy.
''The MoU contained details of how we will work together to
execute our partnership. More specifically, the areas of collaboration will
include the creation of an enabling business environment for the creative
industries with such incentives as easy access to finance; the structuring of
the Creative Industries to enable it generate independent revenues locally and
also boost exports to increase Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings; and
comprehensive statistics about the Creative Industries, including its size and
projections, to guide potential local and foreign investors,'' he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said an innovative part of the collaboration
''is the plan to convene a Creative Economy Task Force to map the Creative
Industries to provide a better picture of what is happening on the ground and
help inform policy development'', adding: ''We also plan to measure the
economic contribution of these industries to the Nigerian economy and provide a
blueprint for action.''
He explained that the agreement was part of efforts by the
Federal Government to ensure that the Creative Industries become a major factor
in the ongoing diversification of the country's economy.
''To reap the full potentials of the Creative Industries, we
realised early on that we will need to reach out to organizations that have the
capacity and the drive to assist us in achieving our goals, organizations that
can utilize their business knowledge, network and technical expertise to assist
the Ministry in the development of Nigeria’s Creative Industries.
''This explains why we entered into discussions with the
Tony Elumelu,” he declared.
Pix: Mohammed and Elumelu in a handshake
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