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From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
In a bid to ensure that more residents participate and vote in the June 20 governorship election in Ekiti State, the government of the state has unveiled plans to embark on statewide sensitisation tour using arts, culture and creative expressions to educate residents on why they must vote and how they can vote properly during the forthcoming election.
The state’s Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Prof. Rasaki Ojo Bakare, who disclosed this at a press conference on Monday, in Ado-Ekiti, also revealed that the Governor of the state, Biodun Oyebanji, has approved another tranche of funds for the Ekiti State Arts Endowment Fund for workers and practitioners in the Arts, Culture and Creative sector in the state.
Bakare said the sensitisation tour is aimed at using drama, culture and creative performances to educate residents in the language they understand, on the importance of exercising their franchise during elections and how well they can go about it.
He stressed that the exercise is not a campaign strategy and not an avenue to campaign for any political party ahead of the coming election, describing the ministry’s move as “Theatre For Development”and “one of its core directives for supporting policies and programmes of the state government.”
While hinting that the ministry would commence the statewide sensitisation tour from March 28 to April and it will capture various communities in the three senatorial districts, including the Central, North and South districts in the state, Bakare emphasised that the intervention is basically to educate residents on correct voting processes and procedures, the benefits of exercising their civic responsibility and the consequences of not voting during elections.
The Commissioner who revealed that the ministry will also use the outing to sensitise the people of the state on causes of flooding and how to prevent it., identified that dumping of refuse in drainages and erecting structures on waterways are some of the causes of flooding.
“Elections are conducted by government. Our intervention is to complement the works of the National Orientation Agency(NOA) and the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC).
“The ministry is embarking on a statewide sensitisation tour whereby we use the arts, both the performing art, the visual art and the culture of the people to sensitise them on two important issues, One, elections are coming and two, causes of flooding and how to prevent it
” A good number of our people still do not know how to vote well, people still don’t know how to thumbprint properly, people still don’t know how to fold their ballot papers after thumbprinting which is why every year you will hear high number of void votes. We want to use the language that people understand, the arts to teach them on how to vote properly.
“Many don’t even know why they must vote. From the research we did, there are people that believe that once the election is going to happen in three days time, before the election day they must be in their farms, they will go and spend one week working in their farms before they return home so that in the morning of the election day nobody will stop them from going to their farms. Then, if during the election or after the election there is violence, they will be safe in their farms. It will not catch up with them in their homes, so they want to escape to their farms before the day of the election.
” Many also believe they run the risk of being arrested for an offence they have not committed, they refuse to go to their polling units because of the high number of security agents.
Many people, including adults still don’t have voters card and they don’t see the reason they must have it.
“We want to contribute our quota by ensuring that our people have information that will make the forthcoming election to be seamless, that will impact high number of voter participation, that will impact current voting processes and procedures. So, we are going round all the three senatorial districts in Ekiti State to make sure that we use the art, we use creativity, we use culture to sensitise our people.”
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Speaking on the causes of flooding and its prevention, he said, ” If you have been following what the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has been saying since last year not only NEMA even other agencies in the meteorological sector. Most of our states in the southwest including Ekiti, have been warned to make sure we don’t do what will trigger flooding during the rainy season this year, that we run the risk of flooding in Ekiti State.
” When you go out on daily basis you will see our people behaving as if they do not know what causes flooding. People still throw their waste inside drainages, people still sand fill waterways to build houses, to build stalls and shops, they do as if they don’t know that these are things that cause flooding. Well, we want to also assume that may be they don’t know, that is why we are also using drama, culture and creativity to also go round to sensitise our people against these dangerous acts. We want to let them know the things that cause flooding and how to avoid it.
“If you go to our markets all around the state, look at the drainages around our local markets you will see that all the drainages are blocked because when these people sweep their dirts they just throw them inside the drainages. We want things like these to stop so that we do not experience serious case of flooding.We want Ekiti State to be safe for everybody. So, we are going to use the art, culture and creativity to disseminate this information and sensitise our people against these two phenomena.”
The Commissioner remarked that the Endowment Fund is in line with the Ekiti State Government Shared Prosperity Agenda, and announced that the policy was conceived during the administration of former Nigeria’s Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, but its implementation failed across the country until Ekiti State blaze the trail in 2024.
He noted that till today, Ekiti remains the only state that has implemented the policy, adding that since it commenced operations in 2024 under the Biodun Oyebanji administration, it has continued to be a platform that offers yearly assistance to film makers, content creators, creative artists, performing artists, fashion designers and other stakeholders and players in the state’s creative economy.
Bakare who emphasised that the Endowment Fund policy is primarily designed to allow practitioners in the sector to set up their own businesses, expand their businesses, acquire equipment, among other advantages,
noted that beneficiaries in the 2024 and 2025 editions recorded remarkable growth in their businesses and other ventures.
He clarified that the support fund is not a grant but a loan that will attract only seven per cent interest and beneficiaries will enjoy six months moratorium before they start repaying the loan.
” In alliance with Ekiti Shared Prosperity Agenda, the Governor of the state, Biodun Oyebanji, has approved another tranche of funds for the Ekiti State Arts Endowment Fund. The Arts Endowment Fund, historically speaking, was conceived during the Ibrahim Babangida administration but until Ekiti State under this current government started implementing it in 2024, no state in Nigeria had implemented it. And even after we started implementing it in Ekiti State we are still expecting other states to follow suit meaning that, as at today, it is only Ekiti State that is implementing that policy.
“And the policy is that, sub nationals must annually assist workers in the Arts, Culture and Creative sector of the Nigerian economy. Our creative artists, our performing artists, content creators were non-existent in the past but now with the dominance of communication tools, with the social media, we have them abundantly and they are doing well and they are also involved, because that is the business platform for Arts and Culture. The players in the creative economy – content creators, fashion designers, film makers, as long as what you are doing is under Arts, Culture and Creative economy, you are entitled to that assistance by government from time to time
” The Fund is expected to assist them in setting up their own businesses, assembling instruments of work, equipment of work in whatever they need to prosper as makers of arts, creators of arts and culture, so that they can prosper in what they do. And so, Mr Governor has approved a certain amount for 2026 edition. So, we want our stakeholders in the Arts, Culture and Creative sector to be aware so that they can apply for it and the qualified ones can benefit.
” The Fund is not a grant but a loan and the loan attracts only seven per cent interest, so that is almost a give away. Why it is not a grant is because we want our people to be responsible with the way they spend the money, we want the money to be judiciously utilised. We want them to be wealthy creators, job creators. The money is deposited in a designated bank and the same bank will also be responsible for its disbursement.
“The beneficiaries have six months moratorium before they start paying back. The repayment period will last for two years. It means for the first six months they will not pay anything and from the seventh month they will start paying gradually and they have two years to balance up. It is a revolving loan, so that from year to year whatever the government gives every year is added to what is already there so that more people can continue to benefit. We want it to be something that is endless.”
The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Prince Adebanji Adelusi, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Culture, Hon. Adewale Igbeda, Director of Media and Planning, Mrs Ajoke Afolabi and all other Directors of the Ministry, were present at the press briefing.
