Towards a new cultural policy for Nigeria (II)
By Olu Obafemi
Thursday, December 4, 2008

This continues the piece on cultural policy, which was suspended last week, in order to mediate in the debate on the symbolism of Barack Obama, President-elect of the United States of America.

The instruments of cultural policy specifically prescribe, among others; government's financing and planning of cultural activities, the functions of public and semi-public bodies dealing with culture, as well as the main inputs in cultural infrastructure such as building of museums, theaters, establishment of libraries etc. are mainly covered from the federal budget.

This also stands for the organization of large events such as national or literary festivals organized by federal or state agencies of culture.

It also prescribes the planning of cultural activities or of the establishment of cultural infrastructure is linked to the budget provisions preparations. It hardly goes beyond an action or project planning. A general development plan of the country may provide for the construction of cultural infrastructure or for major cultural events. The project planning is restricted to either the local level, or, in the case of international cultural cooperation, fully complies with the provisions of the donor organization.

It avers that spending for culture depends on the interests and possibilities of the large public, particularly in the case of pop music, smaller performing groups, artisans, etc. Acts of the National Assembly of Nigeria define the role and functioning of the specialized bodies dealing with culture. Particular laws passed by the state or provincial authorities represent the statutory basis for the establishment of Arts Councils and the other local bodies.

The 1988, Babangida approved but sparsely implemented Cultural Policy for Nigeria, in clear terms, made the following provisions and objectives; that the policy shall serve to mobilize and motivate the people by disseminating and propagating ideas which promote national pride, solidarity and consciousness; promote an education system that motivates and stimulates creativity and draws largely on our tradition and values, namely; respect for humanity and human dignity, for legitimate authority and the dignity of labour, and respect for positive Nigerian moral and religious values.

The Policy also provides for the promotion of creativity in the fields of arts, science and technology, ensure the continuity of traditional skills and sports and their progressive updating to serve modern development needs as our contribution to world growth of culture and ideas. It prescribes the establishment of codes of behaviour compatible with our nation's traditions of humanism and a disciplined moral society. It craves a sustained environment and social conditions which enhance the quality of life, produce responsible citizenship and an ordered society.

It also seeks to enhance the efficient management of national resources through the transformation of the indigenous technology, design resources and skills and enhance national self reliance and self sufficiency, and reflect our cultural heritage and national aspiration in the process of industrialization.

From the above constituents of the Cultural Policy, it is obvious that it can only fulfill super-structural responsibilities such as the promotion of national unity, beliefs, generating of ethnic and national identities, ethical conduct, promotion of an un-quantified national pride, dance- jamboree and air-port dance show-casing and bare breast entertainment of visiting potentates and so on. And this, only when well-funded and given priorities. The issue of inspiring creativity and enhancing national self- reliance became impracticable when the arts were not materially supported, as the Nigerian Constitution did directed.

The Parastatals were virtually paralyzed and starved. For instance, the budgeting priority of the Federal Government puts the Culture Ministry and its Parastatals at the rung of the ladder. Ministers posted to the Ministry considered it a punishment. A particular year in which the Water Ministry got N54 billion as annual appropriation, the entire Culture Ministry, with ten Parastatals, got a bare billion-which was only partially released. During the three years that I was Chairman of the Board on the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the capital allocations were pitiable minute and hardly made available. The story was the same for other sister Culture Parastatals.

The cause of this under-valuation and under-prioritization is both ideological and visional. The Cultural Policy did not contextualize culture within the framework of national economic development. It lacks a materialist perspective. We run a mono-cultural economy with little or no diversification. It does not take cognizance of the fact that the nation's drive for a diversified economy-away from its mono-product present-has a bright chance of success, if culture and tourism, are re-positioned as a central sector of revenue generation and derivation. The conviction here is that there is a greater and more durable wealth in culture and tourism than there is in oil and gas-the main source of our nation's revenue yield and a major cause of our political instability as indexed in the virtual, warfare raging at the Niger Delta.

The 1988 cultural policy did not contend with the fact that culture, in both its extractive (material) and abstractive (human) forms, contributes to the economies of many developed countries than any other resource. The United States of America, the most technologically and industrially advanced country in the world today, generates more revenue from, and invests more capital into, culture than into any other sectors of her economy.

The entertainment industry is foremost in the economies of India, via Bollywood, the equivalent of our Nollywood. Given the dynamics of culture in contemporary reckoning, there is need to redesign culture as an economic imperative. The example of the staggering performance of the Home video industry called Nollywood, our version of America's Hollywood, speaks volumes. Entertainment industry statistics revealed, quite recently, that the Nollywood has emerged as the foremost digital video production industry in the world today.

It is being reckoned as the most authentic indigenous African export, offering Nigeria unbridled access to world market, hitherto unimaginable. Authentic statistics have it that the Nigerian movie industry contributes nearly a billion Naira to the economy of Lagos per week. What is more, it has even been dependably asserted that the potential estimate of the Nigerian movie industry's domestic market is above N550 billion! Now, the Movie industry is only a small fragment or sub-set of the potential culture economy. Thus, whatever investment we make into the cultural sector as an income-earner in its own right is doubly worth the nation's while.