The Federal Government has said arts, culture and the creative economy will increase the country’s gross domestic product by over $100 billion by 2030.
The Minister of Culture, Art and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa-Musawa, stated this on Tuesday while speaking at the 2024 Ojude Oba festival held at Awujale’s pavilion, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
The minister, who was represented by the Director of Cultural Agencies and Heritage, Dr Ben Ugo Anama, noted that the ministry, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, will always collaborate with stakeholders to promote and protect the rich cultural heritage of the nation to ensure it reaches its 2030 vision.
Musa-Musawa stated that the federal government will activate plans to list the annual Ojude Oba Festival as one of the festivals backed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.
The festival, which showcases the rich cultural legacy and endowment of the people of Ijebuland, is celebrated every third day of Eid el-Adha. This year’s festival is themed “Ojude Oba: Unity and Harmony, Our Gift.”
The minister, while describing the annual celebration as a platform that supports the unity of the country in diversity, added that it is one of the country’s tourism potentials that can be tapped into to diversify the economy from oil and produce more resources for the country.
She said: “In line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the ministry will always collaborate with stakeholders to promote, preserve and protect the rich cultural heritage of our nation to ensure it reaches its enviable height according to our vision for the ministry called Destination 2030.
“This vision considers the potential in arts, culture and creative economy in terms of their ability to create economic expansion. Our ambitious goals are predicated on this drive, which is capable of yielding over $100 billion, an increase in the gross domestic product by the year 2030.”
Speaking at the event, the governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, maintained that the festival has become a catalyst for the development of Ijebuland land and underscores the essence of preserving the rich cultural heritage.
Abiodun, however, promised to partner with the federal government to develop the festival and make it a global tourist attraction and destination.