The Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, has outlined key challenges and strategic interventions to enhance the growth and development of Nigeria’s creative economy and tourism sectors.
The Minister made this known while declaring open the 2025 Ministerial and Sectoral Retreat, organised by the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy, held on Wednesday in Abuja.
In her keynote address, Musawa identified limited funding access, poor infrastructure, piracy issues, security concerns, and inadequate data on job creation estimates as major challenges hindering the full realisation of these sectors’ capabilities.
“To address these challenges,” she said, “the Ministry will focus on infrastructure development, policy enhancement, skills development, tourism infrastructure, and data-driven decision-making.
“This includes investing in film studios, digital infrastructure, and global distribution networks, strengthening copyright and intellectual property protections and enforcement, establishing fashion incubation centres and creative hubs, enhancing heritage sites and museums, and leveraging primary and secondary data to guide job creation targets and policy interventions.”
The Minister emphasised the vast growth potential of Nigeria’s creative economy and tourism sectors, driven by increasing digital penetration and rising global demand for Nigerian content.
She also highlighted the importance of leveraging the country’s rich cultural heritage and creative talents to establish itself as Africa’s creative and tourism powerhouse.
The Minister concluded that the strategic repositioning of Nigeria’s arts, culture, tourism, and creative economy is imperative for the nation’s future prosperity.
She urged stakeholders to be guided by data, inspired by Nigeria’s rich heritage, and motivated by the immense potential of these sectors for job creation, economic diversification, and global recognition.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Mukhtar Yawale Muhammad MFR, mni, said the retreat was a unique opportunity to reflect and set a strategic tone to reshape various sectors of the ministry.
He stated that the objectives of the retreat were to align the ministry’s strategic direction with the Renewed Hope Agenda and national development priorities, strengthen inter-agency coordination, and develop a performance framework and implementation roadmap for the ministry.
“This retreat comes at a pivotal time. The world is changing rapidly, technologically, economically, and socially, and the creative sector must be willing and ready to adapt if we are to remain the driver of innovations, job creation, and a viable tool for soft power and cultural diplomacy.
“The core objective of this assembly is for constructive deliberations on repositioning our vibrant revenue-generating sectors as catalysts for exponential economic growth, producing an effective virtuous circle for increased job creation.
To identify key legislative, institutional, and financial reforms needed for the sector’s transformation and to adopt a world-class vision, mission mandate that will guide the formation of the Ministry’s Multi-Sectoral Strategic Plan 2026-2030,” the Permanent Secretary stated.
On the opening day, there were also goodwill messages from the Chairman House Committee on Tourism, representatives of the Chairman Senate Committee on Tourism, the Country Representative of the UNDP, and the Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, Central Delivery Coordination Unit. In attendance were the Directors-General and Heads of Agencies, Directors in the Ministry, Special Advisers to the President and the Honourable Minister, and senior staff of the Ministry.
