The federal government says plans are underway to construct the Nigerian Creative City, a one-stop hub for talent development and youth empowerment.

Hannatu Musawa, Minister of  Art, Culture and Creative Economy (FMACCE), said this in an interview on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to the minister, the project is part of initiatives conceived by the new FMACCE to provide a platform to harness creative opportunities that abound across the country for economic gains.

The minister said, “We are talking about Nigerian Creative City, which I hope is going to be a one-stop shop for the 49 subsectors within the creative industry. So, within this creative city, all the subsectors can go there to demonstrate their ability to create, and by so doing, also creating jobs and boosting tourism for increased contribution to national revenue.

“Although every single state is going to have the presence of the ministry of culture, art and creative economy, the huge project of creative city will be here in Abuja, the FCT. One of the things that I said that we were going to do as a ministry is to contribute to the economic expansion of our country.

“There is a huge real estate, and I continue to say this, in not only culture but in the  creative industries that have been completely untapped for a very long time.”

She added, “Players within the industry have been able to organically grow the industry in a way that has given value to the industry and themselves. Government has to come in now to close all the gaps, to find the way that we can reposition this value to come back in, this is now where you see this $100 billion contribution already.”

The minister, however, urged Nigerian youths to shun activities that could destabilise the country as no meaningful development could take place in an atmosphere of rancour.

She advised youths to embrace opportunities in the creative space, especially as the federal government was keen to ensure that their IP  rights were protected for maximum gains.

(NAN)