Creative Economy Minister, Musawa seeks NBS partnership for quality data

Hanatu Musawa, the Minister of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy, on Thursday, sought the collaboration of the National Bureau of Statistics in providing high-quality government-owned data to assist in the transformation of the country’s creative landscape.

According to the Minister, who spoke when the Statistician General, Adeyemi Adeniran, and top management staff of the NBS paid her a courtesy visit in Abuja, accurate data will foster the growth of the creative economy.

Musawa said that she sought the expertise of NBS following the absence of data for the sub-sectors under the mandate of the Ministry.

“Data is very essential as the ministry continues to build policies that will attract surplus to the GDP.

“I realized that prior to this administration, the creative industry was regrettably unaccounted for within the National statistics. The absence of systematic tracking of creative players and their contributions to our national GDP became glaring.

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“With the establishment of the Ministry of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy and targets clearly articulated in the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021 – 2025), we find ourselves at a juncture where a collaboration with the National Bureau is integral to ensure the successful design and implementation of high- quality, government-owned data which aligns with ethical standards and best practices.

“This data is not merely a necessity. It is the bedrock upon which we will build the future of our creative ecosystem and establish a solid creative economy”.

The minister noted that accurate data on the Ministry will propel policies and interventions that will foster the growth of the creative sector and contribute substantially to national development.

“Your expertise is invaluable and together, we can lay the foundation for a comprehensive, accurate, and government-owned dataset that will articulate our commitment to excellence. Collaboratively, we envision building mechanisms that will track and actively contribute to the development of the Nigerian creative space”, Musawa added.

The Statistician General, Adeniran commended the Minister for inviting the National Bureau of Statistics to assess and generate a comprehensive data analysis on the creative contributors to the Gross domestic product of the nation.

Adeniran further stated that the mandate of the NBS is to generate socio-economic data on daily basis, starting from policy and decision making.

“NBS will look into the database to see what can be released to the ministry on activities of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy sector of the country.

“We will provide the ministry with the baseline, and where there are gaps in line with the Ministry’s key performance indicators KPI, the NBS will look at the gaps and discuss it with the Ministry’s representatives.

“Once the ministry has its baseline compiled and validated, then it is good to go. Subsequently, as the ministry is programming its activities, it will just be collecting this data to measure the progress at any period of time,” the Statistician General said.

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