Musawa: Northern Nigeria Has Talent, But Needs Better Business Structures
The Federal Government has set a target of creating two million jobs in Nigeria’s creative industry by 2030, as part of efforts to turn the country’s cultural wealth and creative talents into sustainable businesses.
Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, disclosed this on Friday at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Kano Creative Summit organised by the National Theatre.
The two-day summit, themed “Beyond Lagos: Unlocking Northern Nigeria’s Creative Economy,” focused on strengthening the creative economy and equipping practitioners with skills to build sustainable enterprises.
Musawa challenged creative practitioners in Northern Nigeria to take ownership of their works, develop stronger business structures and make better use of intellectual property to generate sustainable income.
She said Kano had operated a vibrant creative economy for centuries, long before the concept became part of formal economic policy.
According to her, the city’s traditional dyeing pits, leatherwork, weaving, embroidery, blacksmithing, traditional performances and Kannywood film industry represent valuable creative assets that could generate significant economic returns if properly organised and commercialised.
“Kano had a creative economy long before anyone gave the name creative economy to the industry,” she said.
The minister also described Kannywood as an important component of Nigeria’s global film industry, noting that the Hausa-language film industry has built a significant audience across West Africa and other parts of the world.
She argued that Kannywood should receive recognition alongside Nollywood for its contribution to Nigeria’s film and entertainment industry.
Musawa further highlighted Kano’s contribution to literature and visual arts, recalling that women in the city had written, printed and sold novels in local markets as far back as 1958.
She also cited the contribution of artists associated with the Zaria Art Society to the development of modern Nigerian art.
The minister said the appointment of Kannywood actor and filmmaker, Ali Nuhu, as head of the Nigerian Film Corporation was evidence of the Federal Government’s efforts to bring practitioners into leadership positions within the creative sector.
Musawa, however, identified weak commercial structures, inadequate ownership systems and poor access to markets as major challenges limiting the ability of creative practitioners to benefit financially from their talents.
“Talent has never been a problem here,” she said, stressing that the major challenge was ensuring that creative work generated enough income to attract and retain younger generations.
She noted that many traditional craft practitioners were abandoning their trades because they could no longer earn sufficient income to sustain their livelihoods.
“What is missing is rarely talent. It is ownership, business structure, and a way into the market and directly into the money,” she said.
Musawa said the Federal Government was addressing the challenges through its creative economy programmes, including an eight-point plan and Destination 2030, which targets the creation of two million jobs in the sector by 2030.
She added that the National Theatre’s decision to take the creative summit to Kano was part of efforts to ensure that opportunities in Nigeria’s creative economy were not concentrated in Lagos and Abuja.
The minister urged young creatives in Kano and other parts of Northern Nigeria to build viable businesses around their skills and preserve the region’s rich cultural heritage for future generations.
She said sustainable investment in the creative sector could create jobs, increase incomes and ensure that Nigeria’s diverse cultural assets become major contributors to economic growth.
