By Adams Akorede
The Director, KAM Africa, Mr. Kayode Adebayo has stressed the need to develop a creative economy in Nigeria through arts and music.
Adebayo disclosed this at the grand finale of African Music Festival, Culture and Arts Exposition (AMFEST EXPO) regional creativity business summit in Ibadan on Tuesday.
Adebayo, who is also the Project Director AMFEST EXPO said “no industry has the potential to engage the large population of the youths we have in Nigeria and Africa like the creative industry.
“Without it we will never enjoy peace in Africa; this young peoples’ energy must be channelled properly into economic activities that will develop them and their communities.
“We will be perfecting all the statistics, analytics, data and recommendations from the 4 months business summit. We will be submitting it officially to the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, a commission responsible for policies and developmental initiatives for the Governors of the six south western states of Nigeria.
“We hope this will become a road map towards turning this region into a creative & economic power house in the African continent; a booming tourist industry can emerge from this, attracting investment and foreign exchange,” Adebayo said.
Dr Kolade Mosuro, Chief Executive Officer The Booksellers, while speaking on the topic ‘A Possible Economy Built from Our Culture, in South Western Nigeria’ said “our uniqueness is what sparks curiosity among other nationals and it is what will make them want to give us their hard earned money to partake in who we are.”
He also emphasized the need to be creative in packaging Africa’s content to make it worthy of commercial exchange as well as harnessing the youth energy in Nigeria into positive commercial activities.
Mr Ayo Alex Alao, the founder of TeachMe.ng and HowAfrica.com in his keynote speech highlighted various ways African content can sell and how culture as well as arts can significantly boost the nation’s economy.
“By embracing our essence as Nigerians and Africans without shame, with pride; only then can the world at large be curious enough to want to partake in what we have, then we can build wealth from their curiosity,” Alao said.
