Private capital, policy reforms key to hitting Nigeria’s $1tr economy target, say experts

The National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) has forged a partnership with the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture Tourism and the Creative Economy to drive President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agenda for Nigeria to attain a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

The partnership is the outcome of a meeting held between NIPSS and the ministry in Abuja yesterday, when the Director-General (DG) of the Institute, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the minister, Hanatu Musawa, to seek partnership on the forthcoming national summit and exhibition on the orange economy, being organised by the Institute.

HOWEVER, industry leaders and economists have said Nigeria’s plan to hit a $1 trillion economy by 2030 will succeed only if private sector capital leads the drive.

They warned that government alone could not fund the transition.

The NIPSS DG said: “For the National Institute, we have bonded ourselves to the agenda of the President, in which he wants Nigeria to reach a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Back then in 2023, we looked at different sectors of our economy and we chose areas where evidence has shown that we can actually reach the $1trillion economy if we plan very well.

“So, for the Institute, this is the last of the sectors that we believe that we can find enough leverage and push to get Nigeria to the one trillion dollar economy. We decided to choose the ministry because all our lives revolve around what this ministry does. All our social activities revolve around arts and culture and other things,” the NIPSS DG added.

Omotayo said that since 1977, no major policy research had been undertaken on how to harness the full potential of the nation’s creative industry, adding that this informed the decision to organise the summit and national exhibition to generate and collate ideas on strategies for strengthening and expanding the sector.

The DG said that, already, participants of the Institute’s Senior Executive Course were in seven states across the country, collating data and interacting with governors and Directors of Arts and Culture on how to develop the sector.

In addition, he said the course participants were in Ghana, Gambia, Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, China, India, Singapore, Portugal, Spain and Poland to explore what Nigeria could do to boost the arts and culture sector, to attain a trillion-dollar economy.

According to the NIPSS Director-General, based on research, the creative sector can support the economy with $250 billion, adding that the sector has the potential to attain $450 billion when properly harnessed.

In his remarks, former Minister of Information and Culture and Managing Partner of Bruit Costaud, the consulting firm for the summit, Lai Mohammed, said the opportunities in the creative sector are huge, as it is the second-largest employer of labour in the country after agriculture.

In her response, Musa expressed delight that the theme for this year’s Senior Executive Course participants of the Institute is on the Orange Economy.

She said the ministry, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President, is very deliberate in repositioning the culture, arts and tourism sector as a genuine engine of national economic growth.

The minister, however, pledged the ministry’s readiness to collaborate with NIPSS on the National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy, while acknowledging that virtually every aspect of human expression and communication is reflected within the creative industry.

The experts, including Chief Strategist at ECOWAS Commission, Prof. Ken Ife, who spoke at NEPAD Business Group Nigeria quarterly webinar in Lagos, said that Nigeria needs $1.74 trillion in cumulative investment to reach the target, saying that of this, 81 per cent or $1.41 trillion must come from the private sector, while government provides $330 billion.