The Executive Secretary/CEO, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Otunba Biodun Ajiboye has said if more attention is given to the Nigerian culture, the sector can triple the nation’s earnings from Foreign Direct Investments.
Describing culture as a money-spinner that can generate billions of dollars for the country, Ajiboye said Nigeria has no reason to be poor and therefore advised that it is time for the country to look inward and discover the potentials in our culture towards charting a new course for the nation.
He said for instance, there are about five hundred million people across the globe who are related to the traditional religion of the Yoruba people and as worshipers of Orisa, who are yearning to come back to Ile-Ife to discover their ancestral Root.
“My organization is working towards hosting a World Orisa Congress where about one million people can come into Nigeria. It is my desire to reposition NICO as a focal agency to tap into the case of the 470 million people of Orisa descent to converge in their ancestral home regularly as a source of income for our dear country.
“We are equally working towards developing a global cultural digital platform where at a punch of a button, anybody can see the diverse cultures of Nigeria. We want to move from a single multi-faceted digital platform to several specialized dedicated online platforms for different cultural content. Already, serious efforts have been made towards ensuring this becomes a reality”,
Ajiboye emphasised that apart from providing a competitive edge by turning Nigeria’s cultural eco-system into a global cynosure, it will also serve as a platform where a portion of our culture will have over 500 million viewers globally, this viewership will certainly grow with time .
According to him, research has shown that this electronic platform can yield revenue in foreign exchange that will rival oil industry cent for cent. This has an estimated revenue generation capacity of about $20 billion per annum, which will continue to grow in leaps and bounds as time progresses.
He maintained that if we devote our time and resources appropriately to the cultural potentials we have in the country, we will have enough opportunities to discover a new thing for the Nigerian nation.
Caleb Nor
Media Assistant to Executive Secretary, NICO
April 26, 2024
