Creative industry Nigeria’s next oil, says Lai Mohammed

August 11, 2026 8:00 pm

Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday described Nigeria’s creative industry as the country’s “next oil”, saying the sector has enormous potential to create jobs and drive economic growth.

Mohammed spoke in Abuja during a meeting between the leadership of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies and the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa.

The meeting was held as part of efforts by NIPSS and the ministry to develop strategies for using the creative sector to support President Bola Tinubu’s target of growing Nigeria’s economy to $1tn by 2030.

The former minister, who is the Managing Partner of Bruit Costaud, a consulting firm for the forthcoming National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy, said Nigeria needed to look beyond crude oil and exploit the economic opportunities in its creative and cultural industries.

He said, “I have always said it when I was a minister that our next oil is actually the creative industry – it’s our films, music, gastronomy, fashion, publishing, sports and others.

“We look at this ministry as one of the most important ministries because after agriculture, the ministry employs the largest number of people.”

Mohammed said his firm was enthusiastic about partnering with NIPSS to organise the National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy, which is expected to bring together major stakeholders in Nigeria’s creative economy.

The summit is part of NIPSS’s efforts to examine sectors that could provide the economic leverage required to achieve the Federal Government’s $1tn economic target.

Speaking earlier, the Director-General of NIPSS, Prof Ayo Omotayo, said the institute had deliberately aligned its research with the President’s economic agenda.

“For the National Institute, we have bonded ourselves to the Agenda of Mr President, in which he wants Nigeria to reach a trillion-dollar economy by 2030.

Back then in 2023, we looked at different sectors of our economy, and we chose areas where evidence has shown that we can actually reach the TDE if we plan very well. So for the National Institute, this is the last of the sectors that we can find enough leverage and push to get Nigeria to the One Trillion Dollar Economy.

’’We decided to choose the ministry because all our lives revolve around what this ministry does. All our social activities revolve around arts and culture and other things,” he stated.

Omotayo said the creative industry had not received adequate policy research attention despite its potential, adding that the institute’s forthcoming summit was designed to generate ideas and strategies for strengthening the sector.

“About 50 years ago, the technology we have today did not exist, and with the technology we have today, a whole lot of things are happening, and we believe the arts and culture sector can also benefit,” he said.

According to him, the participants had also undertaken study visits to Ghana, Gambia, Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, China, India, Singapore, Portugal, Spain and Poland to examine how other countries had developed their creative economies.

Omotayo said the institute’s research indicated that Nigeria’s creative sector could contribute about $250bn to the economy, with the potential to rise to $450bn if properly harnessed.

Earlier in her remarks, Musawa said the ministry was committed to repositioning the arts, culture and tourism sector as a major engine of economic growth under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

She said the sector had the capacity to make a substantial contribution towards achieving the President’s $1tn economic target.

“So when the President speaks about trying to increase the GDP to $1 trillion, we believe that this ministry and this industry have the potential of really adding to that.

“We have already spoken about a clear target of about $100bn contribution to the GDP and in your own estimation, you can see that we can even do more than that,’’ the minister said.

Musawa said the ministry had inaugurated four drafting committees to work on policy and strategy, programmes and implementation, stakeholder engagement, monitoring and evaluation.

She added that the committees were expected to help develop the institutional and financial architecture required to unlock the sector’s full potential.

The minister also pledged the ministry’s support for the NIPSS initiative, saying the government was ready to work with the institute and other stakeholders to translate the findings of its research into practical policies.

“It is against this backdrop that I welcome NIPSS proposal for a National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy.

“This ministry stands ready to work with you, as a technical partner and as a Convener of our sector’s stakeholders, as a platform through which the outcomes of our Senior Executive Course can find practical experience in policy and in the lives of our creative artists and our tourism operators across the country.

“We will work in tandem with you to ensure that all your requests are met,” she said.

The National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy is scheduled to hold from October 6 to 8, 2026, at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.

The summit will bring together stakeholders across music, film, publishing, aviation, hospitality, sports, fashion, visual arts, dance, copyright, gastronomy and tourism to develop strategies for building a more structured and globally competitive creative economy.

Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis

The PUNCH journalist, Adebayo, has over 20 years of experience covering politics, health, metro, entertainment and properties

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