From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Federal Government has promised to partner Ogun State on the proposed Fashion Olympics with the aim of hitting the $100 billion target of the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
The Minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, made this known in Abeokuta, Ogun State, at a dinner organised by the Lai Labode Heritage Foundation, in her honour.
Musawa, who lauded the Foundation for organising the maiden fashion extravaganza dubbed ‘Egbaliganza’ in the state, stressed that the Federal Government was ready to provide a synergy with Ogun and the private sector to take the fashion show to the global level.
She said President Bola Tinubu’s vision and mission is to see that Nigeria moves from developing country to a developed nation by harnessing the economic potential in art, culture, tourism and creative economy.
Musawa disclosed that a memo has been approved by the Federal Executive Council to identify all the cultural values and unique peculiarities of all the states to boost the economy through cultural creativity.
“It is the mission of President Bola Tinubu to see that we are not only partners as one entity but one country strengthened to propagate and to push our culture forward, but to also see how we can have economic growth through culture creativity and tourism. And the best way we can do that is if we do not work in silence; we all work together and bring ideas together with private sector entities.
“So, the Federal Executive Council and the NEC have already approved the Memo that I talked asking that we partner and the President has already announced the Renewed Hope Culture Programme where every single culture in villages will be captured as well as the unique peculiarity of that state”
“And when you come to Ogun State you have to look at Egbaliganza and this is one of the ways we can capture the unique peculiarity to see that the Federal Government and state governments partner together with private entity making sure that we push forward the economic growth and hit a target of $100billion that my ministry is looking forward to and $1trillion that the President is looking forward to”. The Minister stated.
Governor Dapo Abiodun noted that his administration has made it mandatory for civil servants to wear Adire on Fridays in order to give the local fabric more prominence and boost the economic empowerment of Adire makers and merchants.
Represented by his deputy, Mrs. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Abiodun declared that the decision of his administration has grown the economic value of Adire and created job opportunities.
Earlier in his remarks, the promoter of ‘Egbaliganza’ and CEO of Lai Labode Heritage Foundation, Osi Apagun Lai Labode, disclosed that Egbaland would host a Fashion Olympics in 2026 which will bring about 50 countries in Africa to participate.
He lamented that Africa has just a 1.2 percent share of the global fashion market of $30 billion, declaring the readiness of Egbaland to lead Africa to a $500 billion fashion economy.