Otunba Segun Runsewe, the Director-General of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) has urged Nigerians to be consuming more home-made foods to help in job creation in the country.
Runsewe gave the advice at a news conference on promotion of Nigerian Food culture in Abuja on Thursday.
He explained that consumption of Nigeria foods would create more employment for Nigerians especially the women, youths and other vulnerable members of the society.
He described Nigeria as a blessed country with a variety of food items adding “time has come to encourage Nigerian cuisines like other countries”.
Runsewe said all nations of the world were devising various strategies of mitigating the effects of the COVID-19.
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He noted that the pandemic had come with severe hardships to all citizens of the world, but with the promotion of consumption of the country’s brand of foods, its effects could be minimised.
According to him, Nigerian cultural foods are not only natural and rich in nutrients, but medicinal in boosting immune system.
He said this was the reason NCAC collaborated with Business Visa to promote Nigeran-made foods and other products.
“Nigerian food basket we are unveiling today has created over 2000 direct jobs and 2,500 indirect jobs and also has the prospect of creating five million jobs if sustained.
“Our ultimate objective is to make these cultural food baskets a handy gift for Christmas, weddings, naming ceremonies, birthdays and other celebrations,” he said.
The director general pledged to recommend these home-made products to Nigerian embassies as well as airlines to serve on board.
He, however, appealed to all Nigerians to continue to patronise made in Nigeria foods and other products stressing that such would help the country move forward.
In his remarks, the Executive Chairman of Business Visa and Trainings, Alhaji Sani Garba, decried the challenges being faced by Nigerian entrepreneurs.
Garba said in spite of the efforts made by some women and youths to initiate and produce some products, they were confronted with non-availability of markets to sell.
Some of the made in Nigeria food items produced by women, youths and vulnerable persons were showcased at the conference.
