Kafayat Shafau, the Nigerian dancer better known as Kaffy, has urged the government at all levels to further explore the creative industry for wealth creation.
In an interview with NAN, the dancer said other creative industry sectors like dance and fashion should be upscaled for economic benefit.
Kaffy, who set a world record for the longest dance party in 2006, said Nigeria‘s creative economy policy has focused on film and music.
“Other areas like dance exist. Dance is a major export. We can monetise dance from the educational system, the health sector, the advertising sector, and more,” she said.
“From the health sector, I have dancers who work as fitness trainers and physiotherapists, deriving benefits from it. For people who have cognitive disorders, dance is also recommended.
“Dance is still the reason we are embracing music. Dance is used in film production. Dance is sitting at the centre of all industries.”
Kaffy urged the government to increase its budget for the creative industry and provide an environment for practitioners to thrive.
“Government has the power to support us, make policies that will make institutions be forced to make a quota of their corporate social responsibility channelled toward the creative industry,” she said.
Kaffy said the standard of education in Nigeria is falling and the government can use dance to help schoolchildren comprehend better.
“These kids are just going to school to mark attendance and the world has changed from the archaic old system. Many of us are not doing what we studied in schools, the educational system should be revamped to what we need in society,” she added.
“Dance, an aspect of the creative industry, is known to help children comprehend better. This should be in our curriculum.”
The creative industry captures a range of economic activities that generate or exploit knowledge and information.
It could comprise art, crafts, design, fashion, film, music, theatre, publishing, R&D, software, gaming, TV, radio, advertising, and architecture.
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