By Yinka Akanbi
Nigeria’s Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has said the ministry is set to establish a national museum and a national theatre in a “Creative City” to be sited in Abuja.
According to a statement signed by her Special Assistant on Media, Nneka Ikem, the Minister made this known while defending the budget of her ministry before the Senate Committee on Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy on Thursday at the National Assembly.
The statement quoted Musawa as saying that the establishment of the two projects are top on the list of the ministry’s projects and they are intended to create jobs for Nigerians.
She said this can only be achieved when the Senate passes the budget before it.
While appealing to the Senate Committee to upscale its allocation in the 2024 budget, Musawa bemoaned the level of funding for the ministry.
“The ministry has been grossly underfunded, and we will be unable to achieve anything of significance without the right funding.
“The potential of this ministry is astronomical if we tap into that so we would like to see what we can do at the legislative level to give the ministry the kind of funding and support that we require to achieve our vision within the roadmap, to be able to achieve the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President.
“In line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, the ministry has committed to an aspirational target of N100bn contribution to the nation’s GDP by 2030 and also to the establishment of major projects, which include the building of a National Theatre and National Museum in Abuja among other projects,” she said.
