NCAC poised to give Nigerians best cultural market in Abuja

All is now set for the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) to deliver to Nigeria, the best cultural market in Africa. Olusegun Runsewe, director general of NCAC, who made this known at a media parley in Abuja recently, stated that the cultural market is set to take-off amid state-of-the-arts cultural facilities like modern shops for artworks, pharmacy, photoshop, business centre, restaurants for traditional cuisines, ATM gallery, traditional hair weaving centres, public toilets, secured parking spaces, police post and information/complaints desk.

Taking journalists round the cultural market in Abuja, the director general, who is also the president of the World Craft Council, African Region, told the media that in a few weeks, the Council would officially open the newly improved cultural market to the public.

According to Runsewe, the cultural market is built with ultra-modern facilities that can compete with other cultural markets in advanced countries. Runsewe reiterated that after the first nine months of operation, the cultural market would go into other aspect of business like a Night-out cultural market that will be the first-of-its-kind in Africa, birthday shopping style and a quarterly media interaction on how to manage, maintain and improve the standard of the cultural market and if necessary introduce more modern innovations as it is done all over the world.

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In responding to a question from one of the journalists, Runsewe added that his joy in reopening the cultural market is that when fully in operation, it will create over 500 direct and indirect jobs for the teaming unemployed youths and artists. As well, Runsewe is also planning to introduce a skill acquisition scheme and internalize the waste to wealth programme, which his Council has been propagating in all the states of the federation, especially during the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) over the years. Runsewe enjoined all Nigerians, especially lovers of art and the diplomatic communities to take advantage of the opportunities provided at the cultural market, noting that the market is capable of generating the much needed foreign exchange that can strengthen the Nigerian economy.