The Government of Bayelsa state said it was going to partner with the National council for Arts and Culture adding that the state was already building a film village in order to create employment opportunities for the youths in the state.
‘The Director General National for Arts and Culture Otumba Segun Runsewe had disclosed in Yenagoa that about three hundred million naira had been secured by the council from the Bank of industry to boat culture in Nigeria. To this end, the DG said about two hundred jobs will soon be created for the teeming Nigerian youths.
Speaking in Ijaw House the Bayelsa state capital during the 46th meeting of the chief executives of culture of the federation, the Director-General, said that the greatest factor militating against the promotion of the Nigeria creative industry has been lack of access to funding and weak access to international markets as a result of poor packaging.
The funds which is already domiciled in the National Council of Art and Culture because he said they just signed the MOU can be accessed by eligible stakeholders whom he said will pass through their states before they get to the council.
He urged members to redirect their activities towards revenue generation adding “that Nigerians want food on their table not grammar”.
Further, he said “This country is one and our culture is one. We must tell our story with our strength and through our new slogan Our culture, our pride”.
Instituting that they were going to discuss the strength and opportunities that abound in Nigeria, he maintained that ‘some countries don’t have what we have in Nigeria, yet they defend their culture’.
“If you are not proud of your culture, you are nowhere. We must train our culture to have a pride of place in the world. It is necessary that we tell our stories”.
He advised any investor that ants to invest in coming to Nigeria stating that they would come up with thirty seven wonders of Nigeria where each state will come up with a wonder.
“This is a real awakening call for Nigerians. We cannot continue to wait for people to tell our story” he said.
He said Nigeria has the bets culture in the world adding “that our culture is still the richest in the world”.
The DG asked all Nigerians to continue to believe in their culture and in Nigeria until it gets to where it is getting to.