By Adepetu John

A Yoruba adage says, “Bi a ba fi ogun odun pile were, ojo wo la fe bu ni je?, meaning If it takes one twenty years to prepare for madness, when will one start biting people?

The essence of the proverb is for one to strike while the iron is still hot instead of waiting and planning endlessly.

More than a year after President Bola Tinubu appointed Ms Hanatu Musawa as the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, stakeholders have expressed concerns that nothing has been achieved in the sector beyond rhetorics and grandstanding.

They said the actions of the Minister, exemplified more by flippant promises than concrete action, show she may not be well equipped to bring the much needed transformation to the Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Sector.

Over the past years, economic experts and public affairs commentators have stressed that, as Nigeria grapples with economic challenges and strives to diversify its economic mainstay from oil, the creative sector is a veritable option.

Therefore, in August 2023, when President Bola Tinubu created a stand-alone Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy (FMACCE), many Nigerians, especially industry players, saluted his courage.

They described the move as a genuine commitment to supporting the growth and development of the art, culture, and creative economy sector for national economic gains.

The creation of the ministry by President Tinubu was seen as a clear indication that he recognised the vital role that the sector can play in his “Renewed Hope Agenda”to secure national economic turn-around.

Tinubu’s vision is encapsulated in the 8-Point Renewed Hope Agenda, and the Art, Culture and Creative sector is captured in point seven of the agenda, which is, “accelerating diversification through industrialisation, digitisation, creative arts, manufacturing, and Innovation.

In the agenda, the Tinubu administration promised to bolster up the youths by exploiting the immense potentials in the entertainment, culture, tourism and arts sectors, particularly for job creation.

The stakeholders, therefore, viewed the creation of the ministry as a genuine commitment to supporting the growth and development of the art, culture and creative economy sector for national economic gains through job creation.

They, however expressed disappointment at Minister Musawa’s endless rhetorics, as all she has done since she was appointed is to peddle promissory notes on the creation of two million jobs for the youths, without any known steps taken to actualise the promise.

Two months after she assumed office, the minister, while addressing newsmen, promised to create two million jobs and shape the creative and cultural landscape of the nation. Nothing was done after that to actualise the promise as the Minister simply went underground.

In April, 2024, at the management retreat of the ministry which held about five months after the briefing referenced above, the minister again announced her intention to create two million jobs, without saying how or making any effort to make it happen.

“We are trying to diversify from oil through the creative industry. It is possible if we can get the support of those who know the creative industry very well and care about what the ministry is doing. We are looking at how to use the talents Nigerians have to bring value to the country.

“Job creation is key and we want to create and contribute 2 million jobs by 2027. We want to increase the GDP of Nigeria by 100 billion dollars by 2030.

“It is doable. We are going to work round the clock to ensure we are able to do that,” she said.

Speeches, promises as usual, no action. Meanwhile, the sector remains where it is.

The latest instance of plenty talk and no action came on Sept. 12, at a roundtable for local and international investors in Lagos, where Musawa reportedly “unveiled plans to generate at least 100 billion dollars and create over two million jobs from Nigeria’s creative economy yearly”.

In her speech, she lamented that despite its huge potential, Nigeria’s creative industry currently contributes just 5 billion dollars to the economy, with its different sub-sectors at various stages of development.

Perplexed Industry players have berated the Minister for lack of capacity to carry out the agenda set by the Tinubu administration to use the new ministry to create employment for the nation’s teeming youths.

Friday Ogunyemi, a member of Screen Writers Association of Nigeria, said that the new ministry needed peculiar leadership, someone who has been there, an industry player who understands in practical terms the challenges and the way forward for the sector.

“The Nigeria film and music industries have been described as self-made sectors, with little or no government input in its trajectory over the years.

“Now that there is a specific ministry for it, the first step should be to engage the industry players by bringing them together to discuss what affects them directly.

“This is why an industry person; someone who has been in the system, who understands the peculiar needs of the sector, is needed urgently to head the ministry,” he said.

Mathias Gimba, a member of Actors Guild of Nigeria, said although the pioneer minister has shown passion in ensuring that there is a turn-around in the sector, her lack of proper understanding of the sector and contact with stakeholders has been glaring in the last one year.

“She will do well in other areas of the Tinubu administration, but a more versatile and industry-oriented person is needed to drive the new art and culture and creative industry ministry,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, an official of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), who asked for anonymity, said the much anticipated turn-around that the creative space needs to create jobs, engage youths and contribute meaningfully to the GDP required more than jejune political statements and seminars.

According to the official, Nigeria has comparative advantages in the creative sector, for economic development, and the industry should not be left in the hands of a novice.

The official noted that the sector’s contribution of just 1.2 per cent to the GDP in 2022 is an aberration, whereas other African countries with less potentials and comparative advantages are doing better.

It was therefore, the consensus of the stakeholders that President Tinubu should rejig the leadership of the sector with a view to maximizing its potentials.

They warned that the promises being glibly made by Minister Musawa – which she has not taken any steps to actuate – will become an albatross around the neck of the Administration in 2027!