
The Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners of Nigeria (TAMPAN) has called on the Federal Government to harness the huge potential of the creative industry to boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Mr Bolaji Amusan, President of TAMPAN, said this at a news conference on Friday in Abeokuta, ahead of the association’s National Conference tagged “Eko 2025”, scheduled for Feb.19 to Feb. 22.
The theme of the conference is, “Maximising the Potential of Arts and Creativity in Addressing National Challenges”.
According to Amusan, Motion Picture and Music Recordings accounted for roughly N154 billion of Nigeria’s GDP in 2023.
Amusan posited that the creative industry had a lot of potential to generate income, adding that the Nigerian government has not been able to maximise this.
He called on the federal government to give more support for the creative industry, citing London, America, and India as examples.
“If you go to London, India and America, I can call them grandfathers in film production and creative industry.
“Most of these people perform arts free, and the government focuses so well on the development of the creative industry.
“The only way we can do that is to get that uninhibited support from the government.
“In Nigeria, let’s take Ogun State, Lagos State, for example, we have just less than two to three film villages.
“If the government invested heavily in film villages and the equipment used to produce films, it will reduce the stress and hardship being faced by the creative people.”
Amusan added that the creative industry would contribute significantly to economic diversification by promoting local talent, creative exports and create employment.
“The creative sector currently employs about 4.2 million people in Nigeria.
“It has, however, been projected that the creative sector could create an additional 2.7 million jobs within the next four to five years if its potential are properly harnessed,” he said.