Nigeria’s Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, made an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, unveiling Nigeria’s plan to take its creative industries to new heights.
This comes as Akinola Davies Jr. ‘s feature My Father’s Shadow premiered this week in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival, becoming Nigeria’s first-ever selection at the Cannes Film Festival.
Speaking at Deadline’s Cannes Studio, Minister Musawa described the moment as a defining one for the country. “Nigeria is having this great global moment,” she said, emphasising the need for strategic planning to leverage the international interest in Nigerian content and creativity. “It is very important for us as a nation to see what we can do to leverage on the interest in the content and creativity that comes out of Nigeria, that the global community seems to have on Nigeria, and to build something long term and sustainable.”
The country’s federal government recently introduced Destination 2030 Nigeria, a growth plan aimed at establishing Nigeria as a global hub for the arts, culture, and creative enterprise. According to Musawa, the initiative targets the creation of “more than two million jobs in tourism and the creative industries and contribute $100m to Nigeria’s GDP within the next five years.” She added that the federal government has already secured $300m in investment for the ministry.”
“Nigeria is a big population with about 240 million people and in 2050, Nigeria will be the third most populous country in the world,” she said, adding that 70% of that population “is under the age of 17.”
She underscored the urgency underpinning the government’s strategy. “You have a growing population that don’t have jobs. They’re slightly disillusioned and slightly apathetic and why? It’s because there’s nothing really to sustain them. Many of the Nigerians that are growing up are very impoverished. They don’t have access to oil companies or even to basic education,” she said.
The minister framed the creative economy as a transformative solution, saying, “so what we see is a huge resource within the creative industries because in every single locality they have the ability to create content with their phones – it’s all within the creative industry.”
The significance of creative industries in driving long-term, sustainable employment for Nigeria’s population was a recurring theme in Musawa’s remarks. “So, in identifying the creative industry as something that is going to be long term and sustainable for this growing population is something that is very important to us.”
Musawa also expressed being proud of Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow, citing it as a deeply moving and emotional one. “Literally, at the end of the film, I cried,” she said. “It was such a reflection of who I was.”
Musawa had earlier spoke about the Destination 2030 Nigeria, saying it will “celebrate Nigeria’s vibrant creative industries while highlighting the nation’s diverse cultural heritage.”
She added: “This cultural experience is not just an event but a celebration of Nigeria’s creative spirit and cultural heritage. It provides a unique opportunity to highlight Nigeria’s creative talents on a global stage, foster international collaborations, and promote the growth of Nigeria’s creative economy.”
