By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

Nigeria’s vast creative talent pool could emerge as a stronger economic force than oil if properly harnessed, the President of the Alumni Association of the National Institute ,AANI, Ambassador Emmanuel Obi Okafor, has declared.

Okafor made the assertion while pledging the full backing of AANI for the forthcoming National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy, describing the creative sector as one of Nigeria’s most valuable but grossly underexploited economic assets.

The summit, organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategy Studies (NIPSS) in collaboration with Bruit Costaud, is scheduled for October 6 to 8, 2026, at the National Theatre, Lagos.

Receiving the summit’s organising committee, led by former Minister of Information and Culture and Managing Partner of Bruit Costaud, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja on Thursday, Okafor said AANI would deploy its extensive network across the public and private sectors to mobilise support for the event.

He lamented that despite Nigeria’s extraordinary creative talents in music, film, drama, sports and the arts, the country had remained overly dependent on oil while leaving huge opportunities in the creative economy largely untapped.

“The Orange Economy, or what we call the Creative Economy, is a concept that people have forgotten, but you find out that we are so endowed with creative talents,” he said.

According to him, Nigeria’s global reputation in music and Nollywood, coupled with its wealth of talents in football, theatre and the arts, demonstrates the enormous economic possibilities waiting to be unlocked.

He cited Nigerian music star Burna Boy’s international performances and the global reach of Nollywood as evidence of the country’s creative strength.

“We have a lot, but we have never harnessed it. Talk about football talent. Talk about the drama. We have a Nobel Prize Winner, Professor Wole Soyinka. We have so many wonderful dramatists, but what have we done? We are all concentrated on oil to the detriment of the other sectors,” Okafor said.

He argued that deliberate government policies, massive investment in infrastructure, skills development and an enabling business environment could transform the sector into one of the country’s biggest engines of economic growth.

Okafor disclosed that Set 48 of NIPSS had been mandated by President Bola Tinubu to undertake research into the Orange Economy, including an examination of international best practices for unlocking its potential.

He said the research was particularly important given the relatively low contribution of the creative economy to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product despite its enormous potential.

“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, this Orange or Creative Economy contributes about only 5.2 per cent to the GDP, but the government is planning that by 2031, it will contribute 10 per cent to our GDP,” he said.

The AANI president, however, urged the Federal Government to move beyond commissioning research by ensuring that recommendations emerging from NIPSS studies were translated into concrete policies and programmes.

He said AANI’s strategic membership base, which includes former Heads of State, traditional rulers, military and security chiefs, former Inspectors General of Police, diplomats, governors, senior civil servants and labour leaders, placed the association in a strong position to support the initiative.

Earlier, Mohammed called on the alumni body to take ownership of the summit and help mobilise stakeholders for its success.

He said the initiative formed part of NIPSS’ contribution towards President Tinubu’s ambition of growing Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion by 2030 through the development of alternative sources of wealth, including the Orange Economy.

“The Summit is organised by your alma mater, NIPSS, and will hold from October 6 to 8, 2026, at the National Theatre in Lagos, as part of NIPSS’ contribution to Mr. President’s target of growing Nigeria’s economy to US$1 trillion by 2030. My company, Bruit Costaud, is facilitating.

“But this should be a project the entire NIPSS family can be proud of, and no one is better placed to drive that than the alumni,” he said.

The meeting was attended by other AANI officials and members, including Major General Umar Mohammed (rtd) mni; Abuja Chapter Chairman, Rear Admiral F.O. Isaac (rtd) mni; Secretary General, Dr Khalifa Mohammed mni; Director of Administration, Mr Ladan Nasiru Mohammed mni; and Dr Gado Shehu mni.