Director-General of National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC), Chief Olusegun Runsewe, speaks on national unity and the need to diversify the nation’s economy to minimise over-dependence on crude oil, among other sundry issues, in this interview with LINUS ALEKE

Oil wealth seems to have blurred national focus on the importance of culture and its potential to create wealth. What are you doing to address this?

Your question is very obvious and the true position of things. We have allowed the oil economy to blind our eyes, thinking that the oil will be there forever. In the course of this interview, I will give you a copy of my paper, Nigeria’s economy beyond oil. You are very right, countries like Dubai also have oil diversified their economy as far back as 1999. We need to diversify not only in the area of art and culture alone but also in other areas like agriculture, infrastructural development, skill acquisition, etc. It is very pertinent for us to know that this oil will not be there forever.

We must start to think outside the box on what can make the difference and that is why I agree with you. What we have been doing, if you check my record, in particular, is that we have been able to put a lot of structures on the ground.

In fact, during the COVID-19 lockdown, we are about the only agency of government that was on the ground, getting things done. I introduced the driving theatre, you stay in your car because I know that the economy of the country cannot be allowed to go to bed.

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After all, that will increase hoodlums, kidnappers, banditry, and other sundry crimes. So, this agency has been at the forefront of seeing what we can do to bring about economic opportunities to our people irrespective of our dependence on oil.

Based on your question, I once again call on Nigerians that every sector must start to look beyond the oil economy and let us see how every sector, no matter how small can diversify. You see, there is a big mistake, we are waiting for another sector that will come in like oil, no, in the days of cocoa, rubber, palm oil, groundnut, kola and hides and skin, this country was okay.

We could look a little bit at every aspect of the economy and it could come together to the central purse and it will make the difference.

When you look at the current statistics, the art and culture industry is not doing well. In the third quarter of 2021, the contributions of the art industry to the GDP stood at 0.18 per cent as against 1.53 in Ghana, 1.5 in South Africa, and 4.3 in the US. What are you doing to increase the contributions of the art and culture industry to the nation’s Gross Domestic Products?

You see, for a very long time, we don’t even understand the benefits and what this sector can contribute to the GDP of the country, which is unfortunate. Why did I say so? You mentioned Ghana and other countries, in those countries, they have major infrastructures that take charge of that sector. For instance, they have what we call a tax holiday, which encourages more people to invest in the sector.

We need to give investors some tax relief. It is a way of bringing more economic opportunities to this sector. Those are some of the things we would need to work on to improve this sector. When this is done, the sector will not only contribute more to the GDP but also generate employment opportunities.

It is not everybody that will get a white-collar job, we must begin to work on partnership and collaboration that would create jobs, not the 10,000 kinds of employment. But reasonable employment that can put food on the table for Nigerians. That is one strategic approach we need to take in every sector of the economy.

What is your agency doing to encourage innovation in the art and craft industry to attract foreign patronage?

We are working on that and that informed our recent activity which culminated in the signing of a bilateral agreement with China. One of the strategies I discussed with the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria is that we want to take a few Nigerians on a farm trip to China. Let them learn and understand how the Chinese economy was built in terms of small industries.

In China, an office space like this office can contain four different factories. We also have the population, we must start to think along that line. Some families produce toothpicks in China, while some mainstream in the production of cloth buttons. We have a population and we must begin to see how we can emulate this model of production. I have visited China about two or three times, the way they build their industries is a model that other countries should emulate.

Look, if you have something better than me, there is no point for me not to imbibe the good thing from you that is the crust and trust of the matter, which had made a lot of difference. For me, I want to believe that we need to build those small, small industries to reduce the tension of employment on government because government alone cannot do it. I am talking with the Chinese Ambassador right now, and he is working closely with me.

We are looking at the option of taking some Nigerians from different states to China to train in different areas of industrial development and come back and get the equipment to begin production here. I plan that most of the equipment we need, while we are there, we will procure them and ship them to Nigeria. We must be courageous enough to start something that will change the lives of our people and make them better.

Nigeria is a fusion of multicultural diversity. How are you managing this mix?

I can tell you that since I took over the office in 2017, this agency has worked hard in managing our diversity. We were in Kaduna, it was wonderful, and that is the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST). In 2018, we were in Port Harcourt, we have gone to Jos, we have gone to Benin, we just left Ekiti.

Do you know that during our NAFEST programmes, a lot of states come together? I take two as an example; Rivers and Ekiti states, a lot of people have read a lot of damaging stories about Rivers State.

When we got there, the city was peaceful, everything was calm and good and one of the journalists that went with us asked, is this the same Rivers we use to read about in the newspapers? I was very excited and happy that we are using the network of NAFEST to showcase the best of Nigeria. We were in Ekiti, a man from Zamfara state, who has never travelled outside northern Nigeria said it was the first time he was eating pounded yam in his life, at the age of 48, they gave him pounded yam in the morning, afternoon, and evening and he asked what was going on? This is a man who was used to taking pap, ‘akara’, and other things.

We have been able to use NAFEST to build a bridge of unity amongst Nigerians. Yes, we have used it so well to the extent that Nigerians now know and understand themselves better in the last five years, than they do after the civil war in 1970. NAFEST is the platform used for achieving all these, which I am very happy about.

The last NAFEST in Ekiti State was adjudged by stakeholders as the best in recent history. How were you able to achieve such a successful outing?

Nigerians must get this thing clear, I have succeeded in changing the content of NAFEST that is the biggest issue. NAFEST is not just about performances, it now has a skill acquisition platform, and it has a free medical service component, which of course adds value to society. We have been able to use NAFEST to train a lot of Nigerians and to get Nigerians to believe in themselves. It is not the usual this is what I can do, this is what I can give, no. It is about proper planning and meeting the right people, it has helped us to make a difference.

Our cultural values have seriously been compromised, traditional institutions no longer bother about the integrity of individuals before conferring chieftaincy titles on them, so long as they have money to offer. Clerics also do not question sources of wealth of members who make big donations for church projects. The youths have also taken to all manner of evil practices in pursuit of easy money. How did we get here and what is your agency doing to reverse the trend?

Our cultural values are indeed fading out but that was some time ago. I have been able to stand firm, I am sure you read my story with Bobrisky. When I was doing some of these things, people thought I was chasing shadows. But we have to protect our cultural values, a people without culture are not fit to live. I said something recently that is trending, there is a saying that “my people perish because of lack of knowledge”. To me, it is the other way round, “my people perish because of lack of culture”.

Culture is key to everything we are doing. So, for a very long time now, we have been having a challenging attitude or attitudinal problem. We believe more in other people’s cultures because they found a vacuum in ours. However, my agency has done something about rape and immorality. In rape, we are partnering with Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), to tackle it. We are also partnering with many organisations to combat immorality. These are things we need to address quickly as a people.

You also mentioned the youths and our culture in your question and it is true. How did we get to this stage where men are now plaiting their hair, putting on earrings? Parents are also key factors in some of these abnormalities, they cannot be left out. A teacher in the school can only teach your child for a few hours, the more hours the child has to be guided rests on the shoulders of the parents. But right now, most of our parents don’t even know where their children are.

They don’t even monitor them, if you monitor your child and I monitor mine, and the next person monitors his, there will be less crime in our society. But today, because nobody bothers about the neighbors’ child, we are paying a big price. So I agree with you that we need a turnaround quickly, to begin to monitor our children. I will give you an example; a parent didn’t know that his son was a homosexual until after 22 years of practicing it. The father almost collapsed on national television, he is a prominent Nigerian.

If he had been monitoring that child and guided him very well, he may not have had that kind of experience. But because guidance was lacking, coupled with insufficient checks and balances on the child, that was why it happened.

Do you also share the sentiment in certain quarters that the traditional rulers and clerics have also contributed immensely to worsening the already bad situation?

It is true. Go to some churches, you see men putting on earrings and plaiting their hair and the clerics don’t condemn it. Sometimes, I wonder, is it the fear of losing members that they are afraid of telling them the truth. They have contributed, both Islam and Christian-wise.

Part of your mandate is also to promote literary works. What is your agency doing to bring great literary works back on our screen as it used to be in time past when NTA serialised things fall apart which was useful to the kids and even adults who had not read the book to grasp the lessons in it by watching the electronic version on TV?
You see, we use to have programmes like Village Headmaster, which families look forward to watching every evening.

There is something to learn for the father, mother, children, relations, and the neighbors. Unfortunately, the kind of production we have now is not looking towards that, it promotes fetishness and immorality, while the star actors and actresses are half naked on set. So it is an issue that has been on the ground for some time now, but my agency will address it. We are currently producing a unity song that will be coming out very soon. We are doing a lot, when Nigeria was playing Ghana, people did not understand why I raised 10 million supporters for the Super Eagles online.

Whenever there is an issue that involves our cultural heritage, I address it quickly, I just gave you a few of the things we have done and still doing. We are doing something, but unfortunately, there has not been a window. For instance, the unity song that we are working on, is a big one, we are looking at the level of ‘We are the world, we are the children.’ We are Nigerians, we can make a better living for other people. We have a lot of activities going on to promote and project our cultural values.

What would you say have been your greatest achievement since you assumed office as the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture?

It is a bit difficult to dwell on one, but if I turn it a little way, I can tell you it is the grace of God. To come and do all the things that I am doing now, and overcome the challenges, it is only the grace of God that can help a man achieve such successes.

You have been at loggerhead with certain stakeholders over the ownership of the art village in Abuja, has it been amicably resolved?

I must thank you for that question, the issue is almost resolved. What happened was that some people were more interested in their interests than our collective interests. That land was made for cultural avenue as you have in every part of the world but some people want to turn it to personal and private businesses and I refused. Today, the government and everyone involved in the crisis have come to see reasons for what I am saying.

This is the only country in the whole of West Africa that does not have a cultural market, whereas we have the land. I struggled and fought with my life to ensure that we recover the land, we are almost there. I must thank the Minister of FCT, Mohammed Bello, he made it clear that no one can take land belonging to the government for personal use. I must also thank the National Assembly led by Hon.

Ogbede Iyama from Edo State stood firm in defence of government land. I must particularly, thank the EFCC chairman, who has called for an investigation into why government land must be taken over by an individual. Before now, that land was gone, but thank God for the few people I had mentioned, who stood firm and said that we must change the attitude of taking over government property for personal use. It was not a quarrel, it was just that I want to make a difference, I want to be remembered as the DG that recovered the cultural avenue from private land grabbers.

What is the contribution and support of your agency in ensuring the return of all stolen artifacts are recovered and repatriated to Nigeria?

That one is not directly under my agency, the National Museum is directly tasked with that constitutional responsibility but being that it is also cultural content, we are giving them all the needed support. We will continue to support them until all those stolen artifacts are fully recovered as you said. I must at this juncture, commend and celebrate the Oba of Benin who came out and said that what had been stolen from them must be returned.

And today, some have been returned. Anybody who knows the Oba of Benin and his pedigree, even when he was an Ambassador, I must mention it here, he was that great man who resolved so many crises at the diplomatic front. A man of that experience with exceptional administrative skill will not go to sleep until all the artifacts are recovered.

How would you assess the Buhari administration as it rounds off on its tenure in 2023?

President Muhammadu Buhari appointed me to work in the area of arts and culture, for the creative industry. I can speak for the creative industry. President Buhari has done extremely well in this area. If people say that I have done very well in this sector, someone was responsible for my being here. So, Buhari has performed wonderfully well in this sector.

He gave me all the needed support, encouragement, and guidance to succeed in my assignment. It has been an experience of a lifetime, and I look forward to building a sustainable culture that even if I am not there in the future, Nigerians will continue to benefit and be happy with what we have done.

Do you share the sentiment of others who say that the President’s performance is abysmal, especially when you look at statistics of unemployment, hunger in the land, as well as poverty? Nigeria is still occupying the inglorious status of the world poverty capital. What is your thought on this?

I don’t agree with that because President Buhari has appointed people in different sectors. Some may not understand the responsibility they have been saddled with. The President cannot do your job for you, not even the minister, you must be able to show capacity and play the supervisory role to perform. If others cannot do it, I think they need to wake up because the time has come for us to give our best. In my sector, I can speak for myself, we have been able to do a lot and when I say a lot, I mean those things needed in the sector, which will give a plus to this administration have been done with all seriousness.

Where do you want to see your agency in the next few years in terms of contributions to the growth of the nation’s economy?

Where I want to see my agency is to be the star mark of leading the sector in Africa and beyond in the next couple of years.