Abuja – Prof. Pat Utomi, the Founder, Lagos Business School on Tuesday called for the establishment Arts and Craft Centres in all local government areas in the country.
Utomi made this call in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the Roundtable Forum and official unveiling of National Council for Arts and Culture at 40.
“There is no reason why every local government in this country should not have a major art and crafts centre with restaurants and all kinds of facilities.
“People can travel and come to such places and enjoy culture and provide jobs for thousands of people.
“And unless we do that and create a fund to support incubators and enterprises that are focussed on arts and crafts and marketing of culture, we surcharge ourselves remarkably.’’
Utomi said that through the country’s culture and tourism, the nation could build an industry much bigger than oil.
“I am confident that the drop in oil prices is more of a blessing than a curse as it forces us to put on a thinking cap.
“It is a challenge that in my view has to begin by not only sitting down and finding the best mind possible to do a 40 year prospective plan on culture.
“We should look at the kind of economy that can emerge from our gifting, our endowments in our culture,’’ he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the forum, Prof. Sule Bello said that there was great need to reposition the cultural industry.
Bello said that those in the industry should not relent in trying to educate the public as well as those in power on the significance of culture in the development of human societies.
“It is also important to continue to drum into the heads of our policy makers and implementers that culture is the sum total of human development.’’
On her part, Mrs Dayo Keshi, the Director General of NCAC, said that the forum was an intellectual component that would bring together scholars, artists, investors and other relevant stakeholders to interact and share ideas.
Keshi said that the forum would also create awareness on policy issues, make available information about import and exchange ideas toward improving skills and knowledge in the cultural industry.
“It is expected that this would reposition the sector in various ways, including the development of products that will compete favourably in global markets.
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“We are aware that no nation can attain any sustainable development while relying heavily on technology transfer without conscious effort at tapping from its indigenous skills to form the foundation for it advancement.’’
Keshi said that it was in this light that NCAC embarked on this discourse to formulate a new economic wealth base for the nation’s sustainable development and economic diversification.(NAN)