The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said the creative sector will contribute $10bn to the country’s Gross Domestic Product in 2021.

Buhari said this on Friday in Dubai at Nigeria’s Day programme during the Dubai UAE Expo 2020, tagged ‘Arise Fashion 2021’.

During the event, Arise TV organised a fashion show to showcase Nigeria’s culture.

Buhari said, “There’s no doubt that Nigeria’s creative sector holds tremendous potential to unlock Nigeria’s economy and increase employment opportunities for young people.

“The projections are promising as the sector is expected to deliver over $10bn by the end of 2021, making a tremendous contributing to the country’s GDP.”

According to him, a recent report on Nigeria’s creative industry shows that the industry is positioned as the second largest employer with a potential to produce 2.7 million new jobs by 2025.

“After agricultural, the creative sector is the second largest employer of labour in Nigeria today,” he added.

Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, described the creative sector as the hub for exporting Nigeria’s culture, currently employing more than four million people.

While noting the government’s support to the telecommunications sector, he said there was an increase in broadband penetration from six per cent in 2015 to 45.07 per cent as of November 2021.

“And now, the road to 5G has begun; I urge the world to watch Nigeria as we reveal and transform,” he said.

The Chairman, Arise News, Nduka Obaigbena, said the event was live on television in 200 countries, supported by Arise News and some other media.

He said, “We celebrate Nigeria because, like it or not, the building blocks of the Nigerian century is afoot despite the challenges that we face; our generation will ensure that we build a Nigeria that can stand the test of time in 2050 as the third largest and most populous economy in the world.