By Anote Ajeluorou
IN spite of the huge
successes the culture sector or creative industry has recorded both at home and
globally in shoring up the image of Nigeria as a top player, the sector remains
the most neglected. Whatever success it has recorded is due to the individual
efforts of practitioners in leveraging their creative talents and ability. Unlike
in other countries of the world, government is a distant phenomenon that has no
affiliation to the sector and it practitioners. This is so because as crucial a
thing as the National Cultural Policy of 1988 on which sector practitioners
place so much hope in galvanising Nigeria’s economic potential, culture is yet
to see the light of the day by way of implementation.
Successive ministers of Culture, Tourism and
National Orientation would seem not to have the capability or passion the job
requires. Most of the time, the ministry is regarded as a junior one and
anybody sent to manage it regards it as a sort of demotion because its budget
is the least impressive. Also, culture is yet to be seen as a serious business
that is capable of generating revenue and making impact on the economy. Age-old
habits and religious zealotry diehard, as many elite see culture in primitive,
ungodly light. Some regard it as fetish or just a bunch of girls swinging their
butts to entertain guests at government functions. Beyond that, culture means
nothing to them.
But as President Muhammadu Buhari seems set to
appoint his long-awaited cabinet at the end of the month, what sort of person
should he send to manage culture? What requisite frame of mind should the
Minister of Culture and National Orientation have to be able to convert the
tangible and intangible potentials of Nigeria and Nigerians into concrete
economic value beyond what it is at the moment? Practitioners in the sector lent
their voices to the kind of man they expect Mr. President to appoint to move
the sector forward.
Prof. Gordini G. Darah is an expert on folklore science and teaches oral Literature at
Delta State University, Abraka. He says the fumes of oil and gas from the Niger
Delta have blinded government to a better mineral resource that culture
represents. He charges that a successful culture minister with a scientific
mind that is in tune with modern trends should be the man for the job.
According to him, “He has to be a very
competent person, but government’s attitude to culture is very narrow and
primitive. But government needs to look at the economic value of culture. Right
now, they are only looking at oil wells in the Niger Delta. If America doesn’t want
to buy our oil, the various domains of culture can sustain the economy. There
is culture as identity and self-sufficient economy. But government’s attitude
is, unfortunately, very narrow and backward.
“The Cultural Policy of 1988 is very
comprehensive. Consider how much can be generated by festivals alone throughout
the country. So, we need somebody with a scientific mind to look at culture in
terms of technology and modern dynamics. We need somebody who can convert
culture to a self-reliant economic base and as alternative to oil mineral.
There was something I said years ago at Daily
Times: ‘All minerals perish, but culture remains’!
“It has to be somebody who has a scientific
attitude, who does not see culture as superstitious and fetish. What most
people don’t know is that culture is technology; they should learn from Apple’s
Steve Job. Culture is something that can even help overcome the economic challenges
Nigeria faces.
“There’s so much to do, but so little done.
If you say you need five million jobs from culture sector, it can be done; we
have the population and talent. For instance, if government says ‘translate Things Fall Apart to more Nigerian languages,’
and it puts money down for the purpose, many people will be employed.
Government is not thinking correctly; that is the problem. We have the
population to generate culture.
“State Arts Councils have no budget to even
attend National Arts Festival (NAFEST). We are not generating revenue from
those festivals; if it’s in the U.S. or South Africa, they will tell you how
much Osun Osogbo Festival generates each year which becomes part of the
planning next year in terms of drinks and crafts sold, hotels booked and so on.
Look at the economic wealth in children’s books, comics and cartoons for
children; this is culture, but nobody is looking at these things”.
PROF. Remi Raji is a poet; Dean,
Faculty of Arts, who teaches English at University of Ibadan and is the
President, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). He says giving government
advice has become an academic exercise, as such advice are not usually taken.
Like most practitioners, he cannot understand why successive Nigerian
governments fail to see the economic wealth culture represents and its unwillingness
to tap it.
As he puts it, “These are very uncertain
times. Some of us are tired of giving advice, direction to leaders on who to
appoint. It has to be the right person who will be in the right place. It has
to be someone who represents the interest of the culture community, a
technocrat and not a card-carrying member of a party. He has to know how to
make it a revenue-generating and value-adding ministry. We are nowhere when it
comes to tourism, as it is done in other parts of the world. It has to be
somebody who has seen it all. In any case, I don’t know why we must combine the
three things together – culture, tourism and national orientation.
“However, in Nigeria the interrogation, the study
of culture is not considered a profession at all. Only on a few occasion do
they get the right person. But do we need ministers in this country? What we
need are local inspectors, and not somebody who sits in an office in Abuja. He
doesn’t need to sit in an office; the real change is in the intellectual
culture education. In any case, they don’t go for people who practice and have
cultural theory experience. They always get anybody – engineers, barristers and
what have you. Culture is very secondary if not tertiary in their thinking.
Some persons see it as demotion when appointed culture minister. It must be
part of the change if we are to change in this country”.
Mr. Kolade Oshinowo is a painter; he taught
at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, and was a former President of Society of
Nigerian Artists (SNA). He argues that the man or woman for the job must have
passion and vision in tandem with realities in the creative industry.
“We need somebody who has interest of the
sector at heart; somebody who has enthusiasm and the vision,” he says. “It must
not be somebody going to office as a transit lounge. He must have a lot of
vision and passion to see to the development of the sector. The problem is that
many see culture as the bottom of the ladder with little attention paid to it.
“In France, culture ministry is the most
powerful ministry, as a source of revenue for the government. But in Nigeria
people don’t believe in that. So, the next minister President Buhari must
appoint must have passion and vision and not just job for the boys; it has gone
beyond that. The minister must be visible, somebody who talks and people will
listen, a man who has drive and can harness the potentials in the sector”.
Mr. Oliver Enwonwu is also a painter and
current President of Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA). He notes that a certain
wrongheaded notion about culture by those usually appointed has continued to
bogged down the sector and that a new orientation is needed going forward.
According to him, “The Minister of Culture,
Tourism and National Orientation President Buhari should appoint must be
somebody well versed in culture, somebody who knows it and is ready to give
Nigeria a brand new face, who can give Nigeria a face lift. He must have the
capacity and is close to the creative people and does his research well on what
to do. I’m not pleased that people who don’t have the knowledge man the
ministry. It’s a very peculiar industry.
“For instance, there is no gallery of modern
arts in the country. So it must be somebody who has long years in the industry
and understands the practitioners and the environment. Yes, it has to be somebody
from the culture sector for him to be effective. It’s not out of place; it’s
long overdue. We need an industry person who can understand our peculiar needs.
Imagine proposing to merge the National Museum and Nigerian Gallery of Art;
it’s an anomaly. Now artists are crying out, as they are required to pay before
exporting their art. Such levy or tax should only be applied to artifacts not
contemporary works of art.
“There is no modern gallery to showcase our
works, to see the history of the arts where people pay to see works of modern
artists because we’ve had people as ministers who don’t know what to do. So,
the minister must be someone who is creative, who has capacity, administrative
capacity. It shouldn’t be for people who don’t have experience.
“It has always been food for the boys; that
is why Nigeria is where it is today. But I think Buhari wants people who want
to work and not business as usual. It’s commendable. Unfortunately, even when
they appoint good people, they don’t allow them to work”.
HOWEVER, a former Permanent
Secretary in the Presidency, an author, a folklorist and President, Nigerian
Folklore Society (NFS) disagrees with the views expressed above. He doesn’t
believe a culture minister must be a practitioner, as experience has shown that
it could be counterproductive to do so. He sues for a broad-minded individual
capable of good judgment for the job.
As he puts it, “A minister is appointed based
on his capability. It’s the prerogative of the President; it’s at the
discretion of the President. So, you cannot determine in advance who gets
appointed. Ministers function on top of professionals. So, it’s somebody who
has capacity to give good direction; he doesn’t have to be schooled in that
area. The cases of Prof. Olukoye Ransom-Kuti and Tony Momoh are still fresh in
mind. They were both resisted by those in health and information ministries, by
their own people. Momoh was resisted by media people. It was why he had to
write ‘Letters to My Countrymen’.
“So, a minister has to have capacity to
deliver good judgment; he has to be open-minded, somebody who is able to
coordinate, somebody who is broad-minded enough. It will be narrow for him to
also come from the same area of profession. Labaran Maku didn’t have a defense
or military background, but he was made Minister of Defence. Sometimes, you
need a fairly independent-minded person to succeed.
“Go and take Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya to head
culture, for instance, and see if he will not be accused of being biased
towards one sector alone; that alone can cripple him and all he intends to do”.
But Prof. Mabel Evwierhoma who is teaches
Theatre and is Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Abuja, still believes in
appointing a well known culture aficionado as the right man or woman for the
job.
According to her, “Apart from the agenda Mr.
President has set for himself, I expect him to appoint a full Nigerian in
inward thought and outward action. He should be someone known as a staunch
culture aficionado who will congregate Nigerian men and women in a global
platform of action. He should encourage Nigerians to have a near total taste
for Nigerian products, who will help manipulate the youth towards Nigerian
culture. He should be someone who can raise our consciousness to a level where
Nigeria is seen as the true Nigeria, globally and at home.
“Nigeria needs to be rejigged and it should
be the Nigerian who can bring about this cultural reengineering. We can’t be
behaving like the white man. The minister must see to it that our Cultural
Attaches function in our embassies abroad to enhance Nigeria’s glory abroad. The
National Endowment for the Arts should be in place. That fund can pay for that
glory”.
Also for Zik Zulu Okafor, who is a journalist,
filmmaker and heads the Association of Movie Producers (AMP), “A culture
activist should be appointed, who understands what culture is in totality. A
nation must be conscious of its culture. Culture is the totality of life of a
people; culture captures it. So, the minister must be ready to adjust culture
to meet the needs of the digital age that we live in and not just anybody. It’s
about projecting our values and communicating these values to the next
generation.
“So, it has to be people in the arts, from
journalism, from performing arts that should be appointed. Our leaders haven’t
been able to understand what culture is. Money budgeted for culture is usually
the least because of poor perception of what culture is. It’s not about women
dancing. A good culture minister need not look at the budget but how to use
culture to generate revenue to make government see culture for what it truly
is. When they appoint the right person, every organization and government will
begin to take interest”.
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