FG launches initiative to empower four million youths

The Federal Government has taken steps to curb unemployment in the country with a projection to engage over four million youths through the Creative Leap Acceleration Programme (CLAP) digital platform initiative.

It also said the platform aims to position the country as a global hub for arts, culture, and creativity by 2030.

Speaking during the launch in Abuja, the Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa, said that the initiative will focus on developing infrastructure, promoting cultural tourism, and providing support for creative entrepreneurs and artists.

She noted that the CLAP is expected to harness the immense potential of creative minds and hubs in the country towards enhancing the value chain to improve the socio-economic needs of our teeming youths.

The minister said: “CLAP is designed to foster an environment where talent can thrive, ideas can flourish, and new industries can emerge. Through comprehensive training, mentorship, and resources, we aim to empower our creatives to excel and innovate.

“Our vision for Destination 2030 is bold: to position Nigeria as a global hub for arts, culture, and creativity, contributing $100 billion to our GDP. This represents a twenty-fold increase from the current state, and it is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the creative economy.

“The goals and objectives of CLAP are threefold: capacity building, incubation and innovation, and collaboration and partnerships. We are establishing creative clusters and centers of excellence that will serve as incubators for new ideas and enterprises.”

Also speaking, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, James Sule, said that the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, seeks to diversify the economy away from crude oil revenue by productively engaging the teaming youths.

Sule who was represented by the Director of Entertainment and Creative Economy, Mrs. Ugochi Akudo-Nwosu, said the creative space and ecosystem in Nigeria is largely untapped and initiatives like this can create a platform to actively engage and equip the younger generation with requisite skills to make them self-reliant.

“It is in recognition of the need to diversify the economy away from crude oil revenue using the creative sector that the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy was assigned and mandated under the stewardship of the Hon. Minister, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa to engage the creative hub in the country,” he said

He further disclosed that the initiative of a new accelerator plan which represents a huge and innovative step towards harnessing Nigeria’s vast creative and economic potentials is as a result of the current administration’s recognition of the potential impact the creative sector has on the economic growth of the nation.

He said through the project, creative youths in the country can be empowered through mentoring and training to excel and innovate in such a way that it will have a direct impact on the nation’s economy while the government provides an enabling environment for their talents to thrive.