Former NGA boss Abdullahi Muku reflects on the culture sector
By Oji Onoko
HOW time flies? It is already six years since Abdullahi Muku stepped down as Director General, National Gallery of Art (NGA) after eight years in the saddle, specifically in March 2019. Having spent almost his entire career in the culture sector, it is only natural that he would have more than a passing interest in what is currently happening in the sector. He is glad that the present government has realized the full potential of the sector, hence renaming the ministry overseeing it as Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy.
“This is very auspicious,” he said. “I am glad that the President Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has finally given the sector its central place in the scheme of things. This is well deserved. This is a recognition of the role of culture and the creative economy in Nigeria’s growing economy.”
He is equally happy that after years of neglect, the Bankers Committee intervened in the renovation of the National Theatre by pumping N25 billion into it, and today the structure which hosted the entire world at FESTAC ’77 is fully restored to its former glory. He is therefore calling on the Bankers’ Committee to hand over the structure to arts professionals, led by the current management of the National Theatre, so it could begin to host major programmes in the sector and perform its role as a tourist attraction for local and international visitors.
Muku also believes that the visual arts sub-sector can also benefit from such intervention from the private sector, according to him, “The National Gallery of Art (NGA) up till now does not have a befitting edifice to house the almost 4,000 artworks it collected on behalf of Nigeria – the national collection. It has become urgent for such a structure to be built, as government cannot do it alone. I believe the time has come for the private sector to work with government to make this a reality.”
MUku believes that given the necessary support, the culture sector can contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s GDP and the envisioned trillion dollar economy by the present government be made a reality. His vision is clear and unambiguous: “That we have a sector that is vibrant; that people will be proud to see that art is pushed to that level where every parent would be proud seeing his child studying the course and taking to the profession.”
Former Director-General, National Gallery of Art (NGA), Abdullahi Muku
