May 7, 2021

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has reiterated his administration’s support for practitioners in the creative sector to compete favourably with their contemporaries across the globe in directing, acting, cinematography and all the processes of film production from script to screen.

The Governor, who stated this while addressing a set of trainees sponsored by the government, in collaboration with Del-York Academy in Lagos, explained that the investment in human capacity development in the creative sector is aimed at giving the beneficiaries world-class exposure in the creative field.

He said, “We will give you the opportunity that will make you what you want to be, and I believe this will put Lagos and Nigeria in that space where even players in the international world will look out for you”.

While expressing excitement about the partnership with Del-York Academy, Governor Sanwo-Olu, who joined the event virtually, averred that Del-York Academy run by Mr. Linus Idahosa presented a compelling need for the partnership, being a serious-minded organisation that has put together a first-class faculty for the students.

“I am convinced that this is a journey that all of you will appreciate and a journey that will open up the entire world unto your palms, a journey that will make you a globally competitive professional in the creative industry”, he added.

The Governor used the event to inform that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture would also be launching some other products that will help the Creative, Entertainment and Tourism side of the industry in addition to other ongoing support for practitioners in the sector.

Sanwo-Olu gave an assurance that trainees that would be monitored to ensure that the course content will provide knowledge for them to become global players.

The Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile Yussuf, lamented that too many African-themed movies are shot outside the continent, outside the reach Africans, who should be the primary beneficiaries of the attendant economics of these productions.

She explained that the rationale behind the Lagos State Creative Industry Initiative (LACI), a concept initiated by the Ministry, is to make Lagos the entertainment & creative industry capital of Africa and ensure it takes its place in the continent as the undisputed centre for outsourcing creative talent into the global entertainment industry talent pool.

She, therefore, enjoined the trainees to see themselves as ambassadors of the long-term vision of Lagos State, knowing that their success is inextricably tied to that of Lagos.

Earlier, the President of Del-York Academy, Linus Idahosa, lauded the vision of the present administration for investing in the creative sector, saying that the Governor is forward-thinking and very futuristic in his administration.

He said, “We believe that Lagos State can become the human capital and base for creative industry across the country and we believe that the seed has been sown among the students, who are being sponsored today”.

One of the beneficiaries who gave testimonial at the event, Deji Olatunde, described the gesture of the State Government of accessing a world-class international training here in Nigeria at zero cost amidst the pandemic, as a rare privilege.

He, however, pleaded with the government to put a law in place to ensure that the initiative continues and transcends the present administration, adding that it is the only way through which Lagos can become a creative capital of Nigeria and change the narrative of Africa as a whole.