Nigeria’s income can improve through culture – NCAC DG Runsewe
Otunba Olusegun Runsewe is the DG of the National Council for Arts & Culture (NCAC) and a former boss of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC). In this interview, he speaks about moving the culture sector forward and ensuring that craftsmen in Nigeria benefit.
You’re moving from tourism to culture. Does it feel different?
They’re related. Sixty per cent of the things I did in tourism were culture-based. Tourism cannot strive without strong culture content. You need culture as a content to sell and brand your country. Being in culture now, and also from what studies reveal, it is imperative to work with the traditional institutions and tap from their strengths. We want to create more jobs through them. You are aware of our N300 million from BoI. Have you noticed that there are no more blind people begging for money on the streets? You will see more healthy people on the streets now. The blind men now take reasonable loans with which they produce mats. If you can take more people off the street, the country will be better and safer.
How can you make projects that will be executed with this money transparent and sustainable?
When I came into office, the minister said this is the first time somebody is bringing this kind of project to the table. Our interest is to introduce the stakeholders who are competent and reputable, to BoI. We have nothing to do with the funds. In the same light, we’ll be going into partnership with NDE. Do you know there are some Nigerians who problems are less than N200, 000? They’re tired of all the grammar. People want food on their tables. We need to reawaken Nigerians.
What kind of people and skills are you looking for?
We have them already. We have commissioned them to make laptop bags, iPad cases. We already have orders from a Chinese company. They are all made in traditional fabrics. The Chinese want a lot because the leather they use over there, when it is cold the leather breaks and weakens. The lifespan is maybe six months. But this you can use for the next three to four years. What I’m trying to do is to open a new window.
With things like this, the producers generally complain of the availability and affordability of raw materials. Are you doing anything in this regard and also creating the market for them to sell their products?
With dye, most of them buy the foreign one. We’ll be meeting with stakeholders next week. We’ll find out from those selling the raw materials needed for these products so that we can set up a level playing ground to enable them bring down their prices.
Why is that?
Nobody has told them otherwise. We’ve acquired dye in large quantities which we have sent to those we are currently working with. It is better than the foreign one and cheaper still, when purchased in large quantity. What we’ve tried to do is to get them to set up cooperatives so that they can buy in bulk. For things we do, we’ll not be giving out anything except it is cultural. Why do you have a duty-free shop in the airport with no cultural items in them that people can easily purchase? Will a foreigner from America who comes to Africa, buy perfume when going back? If you go to Johannesburg airport, Dubai you will see their cultural items there. You will see how people are using initiatives to make money. We’re trying to bring in a lot of ideas into the sector. We’ll also have a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as to why our embassies are giving foreign gift items and not out cultural items. I never know I was coming to culture.
In terms of creating market for what these people produce, what have you done?
I’ve visited two state governors who have agreed to our ideas. Also, we are speaking with a Chinese company that will bring the machines for engraving on the items. All the duty-free shops will have these items available for sale. Also our festivals like NAFEST (National Festival of Arts and Culture) and AFAC (African Arts & Crafts Expo) will also provide a platform for the sale of such things. People who have products will associate with these platforms as places where they can sell their products. That’s the strategy China is using. They have something like say Guangzhou Free Market Day which is just to open up the market. AFAC is an opportunity to showcase the strength of our country.
You said the blind are no longer on the streets. What kind of crafts are they engaged in?
There are about 250 of them from all over Nigeria currently in Bauchi where they learning to make mats. We bought raffia and took to Bauchi. The blind are the best weavers in the world. They concentrate and know when to pick words. They will be at AFAC to show their works from start to finish. We helped them for a start to purchase the raw materials in bulk. When they sell, we’ll recover part of our money back.
You’re putting together a product, ‘1,000 Palaces of Pride in Nigeria.’ With some of them dilapidated or difficult to access, how do you plan which will feature or not?
That which you think is not presentable is what some other person wants to see. That’s why it is called documentary tourism. It is our history and we have to appreciate it. We’re not touching them. We’ll leave them the way they are. In Nigeria, this is the first compendium on our traditional institution. It will give them a sense of belonging. We’re planning to have the first ever National Teachers’ Summit. Teachers spend more time with their teachers than parents. We also have one on youths and women coming up. With job creation and the dwindling oil revenues, what we’re doing now, we should have started long ago. Dubai began saving for the rainy day ages ago. What I’m doing with the leadership of NCAC is to come out with a product that will be able to make a strong saving. In South Africa the 45 percent of their GDP is from culture and tourism even though there are crimes there. The era of Nigeria discussing its threat is over. We shouldn’t let one issue keep us waiting. We’re now using a SWOT analysis - Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat. Somebody asked me about 2019 the other day and I said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My take is that by 2019, Nigeria’s intake and income through culture would have improved.