Month: November 2023

President Bola Tinubu has sympathised with the Canadian government, diplomatic community, and persons affected by a fire incident on Monday at the Canadian High Commission in Abuja.

This is contained in a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Monday in Abuja.

The President assured the Canadian authorities of the support of the Federal Government in the aid of diplomatic and local staff of the High Commission who were particularly affected by the incident.

Tinubu prayed for the repose of the departed souls and wished all injured persons a rapid and full recovery.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

An Assistant Secretary for U.S. Economic and Business Affairs, Ramnin Toloui, has forecast a 100 billion dollar revenue from Nigeria’s creative industries by 2030.

Toloui, who spoke during the Africa Creative Market Conference in Lagos on Monday, also said if the potential of the industry was well harnessed, it could create up to 2.7 million jobs by 2050.

The conference on Intellectual Property(IP) protection was organised by the U.S. Consulate in Lagos in partnership with Ascend Foundation Studios.

Toloui’s remarks aimed to highlight the importance of IP protection and enforcement framework in fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the creative industries.

According to him, the Nigerian creative sector has grown in leaps and bounds, with American actors now interested in featuring in Nigerian movies.

Part of this success, he said, was due to rising demand for Nigerian content from the global African diaspora.  

This, Toloui said, has led to a steady rise in the export of African content through digital streaming and international touring, and growing numbers of African-based investors who are directing capital towards early-stage creator economy startups.

“The U.S. government supports and is proud to see burgeoning ties in the creative industries between the United States and Nigeria.

“Bringing both countries closer together and furthering investment opportunities in the film and television, music, arts, sports, gaming, and tech arenas.

“During the portion of the U.S.- Africa Summit that highlighted the economic potential of the creative industries, we announced our intention to partner with stakeholders across the creative ecosystem, creatives and policymakers alike, to help grow the creative economy.

“We have taken up this charge by focusing on a key piece of the puzzle that allows creatives to monetise their work and attract additional investment: intellectual property protection,” he said.

Speaking on why the U.S., in its partnership with Nigeria, would highlight the creative industries, he said the cultural sector alone accounted for 3.1 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He added that according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the creative industries generated annual revenues of over 2 trillion dollars and accounted for nearly 50 million jobs worldwide.

He said strong IP rights regimes established secure legal frameworks for investment in – and commercialisation of – innovation and creativity.

This, he said, enabled firms, including innovative start-ups, to navigate the perilous process of transforming a creative work into a commercially viable product and to successfully compete in the global marketplace.

“A strong system of IP rights assures inventors, industrial designers, and creative artists that their ideas will be protected and that they can receive payment for the use of their creations.

“Strong IP protection, therefore, creates value and jobs that extend well beyond the traditional boundaries of the creative sector. It attracts additional investment into the creative industries.

“This is why we are so delighted to see Nigeria continuing to invest in the growth of the creative industries with the newly announced Destination 2030 Initiative,” he said.

According to Toloui, the creative industries also employ more young people, namely those aged 15 to 29 than any other sector, with women constituting nearly half of the creative workforce.

He noted that several U.S. film and entertainment companies, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Paramount were making large investments in the Nigerian market and seeing strong prospects for future investments.

“Nigeria is a powerhouse of creativity, and we stand in steadfast partnership with all of you in this room to support the conditions that allow creatives to thrive.

“I want to see many more investments and increased commercial ties. It serves us all to support a sector that is creating equitable opportunity for all,” Toloui said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris says Nigeria is safe and open to foreign investments and tourists to explore and benefit.

Idris made this know in his address at an interactive session with senior media editors and executives on Monday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on Nov. 3, the U.S. Embassy issued notice of an increase threat to major hotels in Nigeria’s larger cities.

According to the Minister, all countries in the world have one challenge or the other which could be economy, political, gun violence, social or cultural.

“We understand the concerns raised by the United States Government in their recent travel advisory, but believe that it is imperative that we do not generalise isolated incidents across the entire hospitality industry.

“What we have seen is that, such advisories do not achieve anything other than needless panic, and they can have severe adverse economic impact, not to talk of what they do to undermine the government’s efforts to attract investment.

“We have consistently prioritised the safety and wellbeing of all visitors to our country. We have implemented comprehensive security measures both at the federal and state levels, to ensure the safety of tourists and international guests.

“These measures include intense intelligence gathering, acquisition and deployment of additional platforms, training and re-training of personnel, cooperation with international law enforcement agencies, among others, to maintain a secure environment.

“The Nigerian Government is dedicated to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all Nigerians and visitors to the country and will continue to work towards maintaining a secure and hospitable environment for tourists and business travelers and the likes.

“Our country is relatively safe and open to foreign investment and tourists to come and invest, explore and ripe the benefits,” Idris stressed.

He further explained that the Nigerian security agencies have been very busy, doing their best to keep us all safe.

The Minister emphasised that in various parts of Kaduna State, seven bandits were neutralised, in various operations between Nov. 1 and Nov. 3.

He explained that on Nov. 3 in Kano State, a joint operation by troops of the Nigerian Army and the Department of State Services carried out a dawn raid operation on terrorists’ hideout in Gezawa Local Government Area.

He added that the dawn raid operation successfully averted an imminent attack on Kano by insurgents.

“The operation recovered AK 47 Rifles, AK 47 Rifle Magazines, a Rocket Propelled Gun (RPG), RPG bombs, Hand grenades, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) making materials, among others.

“In Katsina, two NYSC members abducted by bandits were successfully rescued.

“In the North-East and North-West of the country, the Nigerian Air Force has been very busy, with several successful airstrikes on bandits’ and terrorists’ camps and hideouts in Katsina, Zamfara and Borno.

“The Air Force has also recently taken delivery of four new aircrafts, to strengthen the fight against banditry and terrorism.

“In our maritime environment, on Oct. 25, the Eastern and Central Naval Commands flagged off a Joint Sea Exercise, Exercise SEA GUARDIAN 2023.

“I have taken some time to outline some of these efforts to make the point that our security and intelligence agencies are constantly at work, foiling threats, and neutralising those who seek to undermine the security of the country,” he said.

The Minister said such successes deserve the full support of all Nigerians and the media included.

He urge Nigerians and the media to pay attention to what the armed forces are doing, and give amplified coverage to their successes and gains.

“The bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, pirates, etc are waging not only a physical battle but also a psychological one, trying to undermine our faith and confidence in our security agencies.

“As media leaders, we must be very careful to not play into their hands, through reporting that might be misleading or sensational or that undermines the morale of our security personnel,” Idris said.

NAN reports that those present during the interactive session include the Speacial Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of NAN, Mr Ali M. Ali and Mr Silas Nwoha, respectively.

Others were the Director-General of Voice of Nigeria, Mr Jibrin Ndace, the Director-General of National Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Charles Ebuebu and many media gurus and personalities across the the country.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria