FG targets two million creative jobs by 2030

The Federal Government says it plans to create two million jobs in Nigeria’s creative industry by 2030 as part of efforts to turn the country’s cultural resources and creative talent into sustainable businesses.

The Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, disclosed this on Friday at the closing of the 2026 Kano Creative Summit organised by the National Theatre.

The two-day event, themed, “Beyond Lagos: Unlocking Northern Nigeria’s Creative Economy,” focused on expanding opportunities for creative practitioners beyond the country’s traditional commercial hubs.

Musawa said Kano had a long-established creative economy, arguing that its cultural industries had been generating economic activity long before the term became part of government policy.

She identified Kano’s traditional dyeing pits, leatherwork, weaving, embroidery, blacksmithing, performing arts and Kannywood film industry as assets with significant commercial potential.

“Kano had a creative economy long before anyone gave the name creative economy to the industry,” she said.

According to the minister, the challenge facing many practitioners is not a shortage of talent but the absence of effective business structures, ownership systems and access to markets that can turn creative work into sustainable income.

“Talent has never been a problem here,” Musawa said.

“What is missing is rarely talent. It is ownership, business structure, and a way into the market and directly into the money.”

She said the Federal Government was addressing the challenges through its creative economy programmes, including an eight-point plan and Destination 2030, which targets two million jobs in the sector by the end of the decade.

Musawa also called on creative practitioners in Northern Nigeria to take greater ownership of their works and make better use of intellectual property to increase their earnings.

She noted that some traditional craft practitioners were abandoning their trades because the income generated from them was no longer sufficient to support their livelihoods.

The minister further highlighted the growth of Kannywood, saying the Hausa-language film industry had built a substantial audience across West Africa and in other parts of the world.

She said Kannywood’s contribution should be recognised as part of Nigeria’s wider film industry, alongside Nollywood.

Musawa also cited Kano’s contribution to literature, noting that women in the city had written, published and sold novels in local markets as far back as 1958.

She referenced the contribution of artists associated with the Zaria Art Society to the development of modern Nigerian art.

According to her, the appointment of Kannywood actor and filmmaker Ali Nuhu to head the Nigerian Film Corporation also reflected efforts by the Federal Government to bring experienced practitioners into leadership positions within the sector.

Musawa said the decision by the National Theatre to hold the creative summit in Kano was part of efforts to decentralise opportunities in the creative economy, which she said should not remain concentrated in Lagos and Abuja.

She urged young creatives across Northern Nigeria to develop viable businesses around their skills and create sustainable career paths that would encourage future generations to remain in the creative sector.