The Coordinator, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) North-Central Zonal Office, Ilorin, Mr. Ohi Ojo, has said that the challenges Nigerians face every day are to enhance balance in our living for developmental purpose.
The Zonal Coordinator, who was stated this at this year’s World Culture Day Celebration, which took place, on Monday, 22nd May, 2017, at the zonal office, added that the present economic recession the country is facing has made this year’s celebration unique.
According to him, “We have the great opportunity of countless abundance of creative materials that we can tap into to get us out of the woods. This explains one of the reasons NICO will continue nurturing social interface and communication between people as an important means of stimulating creativity and innovation”.”
In a joint paper, the co-presenters, Ariyo Adeoti and Mashood Dagbo Yusuf, Head of Orientation and Cultural Affairs and Personal Assistant to the Zonal Coordinator, called on the government and the people of Nigeria to turn to the creative industry in order to come out of the current economic recession being experienced.
The presenters submitted that the contribution of the non–oil sector to the Nigerian economy continued to enlarge relatively to the oil sector due to low oil price and Nigeria’s low oil production output which they said, despite the negative GDP growth rate recorded in the second quarter of 2016, the contraction of the economy was less severe due to the relatively diversified non-oil sector, which was the creative sector.
Ariyo and Dagbo added that the creative sector had become a key component of Nigeria’s drive towards economic diversification and a key contribution to its services sector export, explaining further that the movie and music industries, art and crafts, basketry, pottery and the likes, are great contributors to the nation’s GDP.
High lights of the occasion included “Dress Nigerian” parade and presentation of gifts to the best dressed male, won by Olumide Dada wearing a Yoruba dress; the best dressed female staff was Ms Ajuma Edeh, wearing an Idoma outfit; while staffers were later treated to light refreshment.
Naseer Saeed Ategba
NCZ