AANI backs NIPSS push to unlock Nigeria’s creative economy

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

ABUJA — The Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI) has thrown its weight behind efforts by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) to unlock Nigeria’s creative economy, describing the sector as one of the country’s most valuable but underexploited economic assets.

President of AANI, Ambassador Emmanuel Obi Okafor, said Nigeria’s vast creative talent pool could become a stronger economic force than oil if properly harnessed through deliberate policies, investment and an enabling business environment.

Okafor spoke in Abuja on Thursday when he received the organising committee of the forthcoming National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy, led by former Minister of Information and Culture and Managing Partner of Bruit Costaud, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The summit, organised by NIPSS in collaboration with Bruit Costaud, is scheduled to hold from October 6 to 8, 2026, at the National Theatre, Lagos.

Okafor said AANI would deploy its extensive network across the public and private sectors to mobilise support for the summit and promote the development of Nigeria’s creative economy.

He lamented that despite the country’s enormous talent in music, film, drama, sports and the arts, Nigeria remained overly dependent on oil while failing to fully exploit the economic opportunities in the creative sector.

“The Orange Economy, or what we call the Creative Economy, is a concept that people have forgotten, but you find out that we are so endowed with creative talents,” he said.

The AANI president cited Nigeria’s global influence in music and Nollywood, as well as its wealth of talent in football, theatre and the arts, as evidence of the sector’s potential.

“We have a lot, but we have never harnessed it. Talk about football talent. Talk about the drama. We have a Nobel Prize Winner, Professor Wole Soyinka. We have so many wonderful dramatists, but what have we done? We are all concentrated on oil to the detriment of the other sectors,” he said.

He said deliberate government policies, investment in infrastructure and skills development, as well as an enabling business environment, could transform the creative sector into one of Nigeria’s major engines of economic growth.

Okafor disclosed that Set 48 of NIPSS had been mandated by President Bola Tinubu to undertake research into the Orange Economy, including examining international best practices for unlocking its potential.

He said the research was particularly important because of the relatively low contribution of the creative economy to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product despite its enormous potential.

“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, this Orange or Creative Economy contributes about only 5.2 per cent to the GDP, but the government is planning that by 2031, it will contribute 10 per cent to our GDP,” he said.

He, however, urged the Federal Government to go beyond commissioning research by ensuring that recommendations from NIPSS studies were translated into concrete policies and programmes.

Okafor said AANI’s membership, comprising former Heads of State, traditional rulers, military and security chiefs, former Inspectors General of Police, diplomats, governors, senior civil servants and labour leaders, positioned the association to provide strategic support for the initiative.

Earlier, Mohammed urged the alumni association to take ownership of the summit and mobilise stakeholders towards its success.

He said the initiative was part of NIPSS’ contribution to President Tinubu’s target of growing Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion by 2030 through the development of alternative sources of wealth, including the Orange Economy.

“The Summit is organised by your alma mater, NIPSS, and will hold from October 6 to 8, 2026, at the National Theatre in Lagos, as part of NIPSS’ contribution to Mr President’s target of growing Nigeria’s economy to US$1 trillion by 2030. My company, Bruit Costaud, is facilitating,” Mohammed said.

He added: “But this should be a project the entire NIPSS family can be proud of, and no one is better placed to drive that than the alumni.”

The meeting was attended by other AANI officials and members, including Major General Umar Mohammed (rtd), mni; Abuja Chapter Chairman, Rear Admiral F.O. Isaac (rtd), mni; Secretary General, Dr Khalifa Mohammed, mni; Director of Administration, Mr Ladan Nasiru Mohammed, mni; and Dr Gado Shehu, mni.

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