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By Abdul Alli, Abuja

 

The Director-General of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, has said that Nigeria is the home of rich cultural handicrafts in the world.

Runsewe said this while addressing newsmen at the World Handicrafts Day, held at the councils premises in Abuja.

According to the DG, NCAC, “ the National Cultural Policy and the Act establishing the Council (NCAC) empowered it to promote and develop the best of Nigerian living arts and culture. He said that Nigeria’s cultural sector could create jobs, empowerment and economic opportunities to the unemployed citizens.

“We at the NCAC are of the conviction that there are vast opportunities in the arts and crafts sector that could be harnessed to create jobs, empower our people and drive the process of economic development. Indeed, as one of the highest employer of labour in the world, the sector has the potential of combating urban-rural drift, youth restiveness and militancy as well as empowering the vast majority of unemployed Nigerians.

“One unique advantage of the industry is its capacity to accommodate the educated and the uneducated, the young and the old, the able bodied and the physically challenged alike.

“There are hundreds of thousands of different varieties of handicrafts, which include potter, knitting, craving, weaving, sewing, dyeing, calligraphy and smiting to mention but a few,’’ he said.

Stressing the importance of handicrafts, he noted that it represented the very essence of the people’s culture and tradition. It said it also promotes the heritage of a country through the use of indigenous materials and preserves traditional knowledge and talents.

“Handicrafts are hugely important in terms of economic development. They provide ample opportunities for employment even with low capital investment and thus become a prominent medium for foreign earnings. It also promotes originality and ingenuity, 100 per cent creativity and uniqueness,’’ he said.

Speaking also at the event, Mrs. Chinze Ojobo, the President, Female Artists Association of Nigeria said that Nigerian arts and crafts would always stand out in the world. She also added that the association was doing everything possible to ensure that Nigerian cultural potential was promoted across the globe.

 

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Abdul Rahman Aliagan is an Abuja-based seasoned Journalist who was born in late 70s and has spanned over a decade and half in the profession. His flair for investigative Journalism has earned him a niche and more on the profession. A member of Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, he is currently the National Secretary of the Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalists, NGIJ, an umbrella body for all the curious journalists in Nigeria. Aliagan, a graduate of History from the Better By Far University, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, and a Masters student in the Department of History, Nasarawa State University, Keffi. He started his Journalistic career with The Herald Newspaper, in 1997 even as a Copy boy in the Newsroom; he later moved his career to Funtua, Katsina State as a Media Assistant to a Non-Governmental Organization, (NGO), Pan-African Development Education and Advocacy Programme (PADEAP). Aliagan later joined the service of Newspeg Newspaper, an Abuja based media outfit as a Senior Correspondent only to become the pioneer Editor as the platform later transformed to Magazine titled Newspeg Magazine. For his close to two decades uninterrupted media experiences, Aliagan with some like minds floated Time Nigeria Magazine, where he is currently serving as the Managing Editor, a Magazine that is setting Economic and political pace for the most populous country on African continent, Nigeria. Aliagan has been a Contributing Editor for some other media platforms such as Security Monitor, Kwara Arise and Health Agenda. Aliagan is the Publisher of ArtsDaily Nigeria, a History, Culture and Tourism focused Newspaper.

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