The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed says the ministry will leverage on the
cultural industry of the nation to employ many
people, especially the youth. He spoke during the
inauguration of the “One Lagos Fiesta’’ at Agege
Stadium, Lagos on Sunday night.
“I can assure you that by January 2016, when we
will start rolling out our programmes, we will be
able to mop up as many unemployed youths as
possible using the cultural platform,’’ he said. He
said that the Federal Government had earmarked
N500 billion in 2016 budge to help young people
who wanted to acquire skills and trade.
“What we have decided to do is to cooperate with
all states and ask each state to give us 10 cities in
their state, 10 festivals and 10 cultural industries.
“With this, we can have 360 festivals plus another
five in Abuja making 365 festivals in Nigeria. “This
will mean that for every day, there will be festival
taking place in one part of Nigeria,’’ he said.
Mohammed said that the idea would enable Nigeria
to have a compendium of cultural festivals and
dates. He added that the compendium would be
sent abroad to intimate people with the festivals
available in the country at a particular time.
Also Speaking, Gov. Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos
State said that the fiesta was part of his
administration’s efforts to bring governance to the
communities and to have a government of
inclusion. According to him, the fiesta is about the
people living in the state. The highlights of the
fiesta included live performance by musicians,
including Seun Kuti, Dbanj and Sasha, among
others.
The fiesta is organised by the Lagos State
Government to enliven the New Year crossover
celebration. The festival-like event is scheduled to
hold simultaneously in five different locations of the
state from Dec. 27 to Jan.1, 2016.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/12/how-well-create-jobs-through-365-festivals-in-nigeria-lai-mohammed/