NIPSS, Art Ministry partner to drive $1trn economy by 2030
By Joseph Erunke, Abuja
The National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) has forged a partnership with the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy (FMACTCE) to drive President Bola Tinubu’s agenda for Nigeria to attain a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
The partnership is the outcome of a meeting held between NIPSS and the ministry in Abuja on Tuesday, when the Director-General of the Institute, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Minister, Ms. Hanatu Musawa, to seek partnership on the forthcoming National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy, being organised by the Institute.
“For the National Institute, we have bonded ourselves to the Agenda of Mr. President in which he wants Nigeria to reach a Trillion Dollar Economy by 2030. Back then in 2023, we looked at different sectors of our economy and we chose areas where evidence has shown that we can actually reach the Trillion Dollar Economy if we plan very well.
“So for the National Institute, this is the last of the sectors that we believe that we can find enough leverage and push to get Nigeria to the One Trillion Dollar Economy,’’ he said. ’’We decided to choose the ministry because all our lives revolve around what this ministry does. All our social activities revolve around arts and culture and other things.”
He said that since 1977, no major policy research had been undertaken on how to harness the full potential of the nation’s creative industry, adding that this informed the decision to organise the Summit and National Exhibition to generate and collate ideas on strategies for strengthening and expanding the sector.
“At 50 years back, the technology we have today did not exist and with the technology we have today, a whole lot of things are happening and we believe the arts and culture sector can also benefit,” the Director-General said.
Prof. Omotayo said that, already, participants of the Institute’s Senior Executive Course were in seven states across the country, collating data and interacting with governors and Directors of Arts and Culture on how to develop the sector.
In addition, he said the course participants were in Ghana, Gambia, Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, China, India, Singapore, Portugal, Spain and Poland to explore what Nigeria could do to boost the arts and culture sector, with the aim of attaining a trillion-dollar economy.
According to the NIPSS Director-General, based on research, the creative sector can support the economy with $250 billion. However, the sector has the potential to attain $450 billion when properly harnessed.
In his remarks, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, former Minister of Information and Culture and Managing Partner of Bruit Costaud, the consulting firm for the Summit, said the opportunities in the creative sector are huge, as it is the second-largest employer of labour in the country after agriculture.
“I have always said it when I was a minister that our next oil is actually the creative industry – it’s our films, music, gastronomy, fashion, publishing, sports, etc…… We look at this ministry as one of the most important ministries because after agriculture, the ministry employs the largest number of people,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said his company was very enthusiastic about partnering with NIPSS to organise the National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy.
In her response, the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Ms. Hanatu Musa, expressed delight that the theme for this year’s Senior Executive Course participants of the Institute is on the Orange Economy.
She said the ministry, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President, is very deliberate in repositioning the culture, arts and tourism sector as a genuine engine of national economic growth.
“So when the President speaks about trying to increase the GDP to $1 trillion, we believe that this ministry and this industry have the potential of really adding to that. We have already spoken about a clear target of about $100 billion contribution to the GDP and in your own estimation, you can see that we can even do more than that,’’ the minister said.
She said the ministry has inaugurated four drafting committees on policy and strategy, programmes and implementation, stakeholders engagement and monitoring as well as evaluation to build the institutional financial architecture that the creative sector needs.
She pledged the ministry’s readiness to collaborate with NIPSS on the National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy, while acknowledging that virtually every aspect of human expression and communication is reflected within the creative industry.
“It is against this backdrop that I welcome NIPSS proposal for a National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy and this ministry stands ready to work with you, as a technical partner and as a Convener of our sector’s stakeholders, as a platform through which the outcomes of our Senior Executive Course can find practical experience in policy and in the lives of our creative artists and our tourism operators across the country. We will work in tandem with you to ensure that all your requests are met,” she said.
The National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy comes up October 6-8, 2026, at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts (formerly National Theatre), Iganmu, Lagos.
The Summit will unite stakeholders across the full spectrum of the Orange Economy, including music, film, publishing, aviation, hospitality, sports, fashion, visual arts, dance, copyright, gastronomy and tourism, to chart a path toward a more structured, productive and globally competitive creative economy for Nigeria.
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