Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says creative artists in the country “shouldn’t die poor” when their counterparts in other countries are rich.
The minister said the talent of creative artists must be translated to money.
He made this known on Sunday at the stage performance of Itan (Story) at the National Theatre.
“We believe that what our creative people need today is to see the creative industry as a creative economy.
“It is not enough to see a fantastic performance like we see here today, but the actors must be able to translate their talent to money.
“There is no reason why a creative artist should die poor because, in other parts of the world, the richest people are the people whose products are based on intellectual creativity,” Mohammed said.
He noted that Nigeria’s creative industry will witness a dramatic turnaround in the coming months.
The minister also said he would present the amended national endowment for the arts act to the federal executive council to make it possible for young artists to have access to grants and funds to finance their works.
The act will subsequently be forwarded to the national assembly.
Mohammed also appealed to the rich and philanthropists to invest more in the creative industry, noting that everywhere in the world, the industry is sustained by the well-to-do.
“It may be slow, but I want to assure you that this government will move the creative industry from the margin to the mainstay of the economy.
“We are going to strengthen our law enforcement and ensure that illegal reproduction of your works by pirates become a thing of the past,’’ he said.
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