David Lawani

A Nigerian Music Promoter, Edi Lawani, has called on the Lagos State Government to re-engineer cultural activities in the state for economic benefits noting that only a knowledge economy can take advantage of tourism potential.

Lawani made the call during the ongoing “bestoflagosfamtour22” organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, to improve patronage of local tourist sites in the state.

The music promoter said things must be done differently and creatively by the state government to ensure improvement in the Internally Generated Revenue of the state.

According to him, this can be done through the improved and deliberate promotion of African culture.

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“The Lagos State Government should be focused on re-engineering cultural activities for economic benefits.

The nation’s culture is capable of generating huge monetary resources for us when we are creative and deliberate in exploring it,” he said.

Lawani noted that to position the state as the entertainment capital of Africa, a lot must be done to improve its tourism and entertainment industries and maximize the latent potential of the industries for greater output.

“To achieve this, education through awareness is germane, we must develop the knowledge economy necessary to position people for a rethink or change to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that abound in the industries.

“All hands must be on deck, infrastructure must be enhanced through massive investment interventions.

“Public-Private Partnership is a good option to explore if Lagos must be positioned as the entertainment capital of Africa.

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“We must incubate the entertainment businesses at the grassroots level, incentives should be given to small businesses to grow but not in monetary terms,” he said.

The Igarra, Edo-born music icon advised the state government to encourage viable and reputable brands to trade investments in entertainment development initiatives for policy backing incentives from the government.

He reiterated that data mining and management were mandatory for business analytics and growth forecast.

“Government should engage the right people in the sector to get desired results.

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“We should know that tourism is driven by curiosity, aspiration, desire, emotions, and money likewise entertainment.

“Tourism is the major driver of the entertainment business while entertainment is the bedrock of the tourism business.

So, both must be jointly developed for economic benefits,” he noted.