By Yinka Kolawole

With adequate investments and the right policies, Nigeria can earn more than $13 billion in annual revenue from the arts industry.

Co-directors at Patrons MCAA, an arts advisory and dealership firm, Keturah Ovio and Peter Imo, made the assertion at a ceremony to announce the upcoming Small and Iconic Miniature Arts Exhibition, billed to take place from September 30 to October 15 in Lagos.

Ovio said that experience from other nations shows that the art industry can contribute anywhere from two to 10 percent of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

She stated: “Nigeria is missing up to $13.2 billion in annual revenue opportunity from the arts industry due to a lack of investments and the right policies to drive the sector.

“$13.2 billion in revenue amounts to only three percent of Nigeria’s total GDP of $440 billion, which is feasible and realizable.”

Ovio noted that South Africa’s visual arts and crafts contributed 15 percent to the country’s GDP in 2020, while Nigeria’s arts, entertainment, and recreation contributed merely 0.21 percent to the second quarter GDP of 2023 from 0.16 percent of GDP in the corresponding period of 2022.

“Even Kenya’s arts and creative industries contribute five percent to the GDP. We can do three percent, which is just a conservative estimate for me.
“Nigeria needs to invest heavily in the arts industry to boost revenue earnings from it,” she added.

In his own remarks, Imo posited that Nigeria needs to make the arts attractive to young and old.

He said that the step requires making annual budgetary allocations to the arts sector in order to make local works gain more international traction.

“Arts is not a sector for the government alone. There should be a concerted effort by all the stakeholders to make the industry attractive. One way we can do it is to begin to make budgetary allocations to support Nigerian arts.

“For instance, getting Nigerian artworks and artists to participate in global exhibitions and events requires money.”

Imo said that Patrons MCAA’s forthcoming exhibition, “5 in Focus”, is geared towards showcasing the potential of the Nigerian and African arts industry.

“With great pride, we will present five exceptional artists from five diverse nations – Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, and France,” he added.

The artists listed for the exhibition include Lambert Shumbusho (Rwanda/France), Abrifor Silas (Nigeria), Justine Gaga (Cameroon), O’Dare Adenuga (Nigeria), and Thabiso Dakamela (South Africa).