Bisi Silva, the Curator, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Lagos, on Monday said that the Nigeria could generate over N100 billion annually from cultures and museums, if adequately explored.
She said that Nigeria was blessed with enormous tourism assets, cultures, arts and museums, which could be used to create wealth.
“The arts sector is a multi-billion naira industry which can generate N100 billion annually into the government’s purse.
“It can also be used to increase the nation`s Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR), provide employment opportunities and help to alleviate poverty, ‘’ Silva said.
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She urged the Federal Government to name national museums and monuments in memory of past heroes that contributed positively to the development of the nation’s arts and cultures, both locally and internationally.
Silva mentioned some late heroes like: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Chief I.K. Dairo, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Hubert Ogunde, a Theatre icon.
She urged Nigerians to appreciate and embrace their cultures, adding that most Nigerian cultures had been eroded by Western education.
“Parents should communicate with their children in their native language.
“Lack of communication in our indigenous languages had contributed to the decline of our cultures,’’ Silva said.
She advised parents to impact culture, like dialect, onto their children, adding that tertiary institutions should also be made to teach Nigerian cultures in schools.
