Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, has identified inadequate infrastructure as a major challenge to fully harnessing Nigeria’s enormous creative talent, saying government must create the right environment for the sector to thrive.
Hamzat spoke during the screening of Black Market, which is being used in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the largest film premiere, with an initial target of 50,000 participants.
According to him, Nigeria does not lack talent, but needs the necessary infrastructure and institutional support to translate its creative potential into greater economic and cultural impact.
“Our challenge is not talent. We’ve always been talented people. Our challenge is how do we create the right infrastructure to meet that talent,” he said.
The Deputy Governor said Lagos was committed to developing infrastructure for the state’s cultural and creative industries, stressing that investment in the sector should go beyond physical infrastructure to include the development of the state’s cultural influence, which he described as its “soft power.”
Hamzat also drew attention to the global influence of the entertainment industry, citing Hollywood as an example of how the creative sector can contribute to the identity and influence of a city or region.
He said Lagos’ sister-state partnership with California was also significant in this regard, noting the need for the state to strengthen its own creative industry.
The Guinness World Record attempt, he said, provided an opportunity to demonstrate the capacity of Lagos’ creative community while drawing attention to the wider need to support the sector.
Also speaking, Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka, highlighted security and traffic management as key issues requiring government attention as major events attract large crowds to the state.
She said the government was preparing its security and traffic management apparatus to support activities during the Ember months and ensure Lagos remained safe.
Meanwhile, one of the creative minds behind Black Market, Damilola Osikoya, said the project was conceived as more than a conventional movie premiere.
Osikoya said the gathering was intended to bring thousands of girls together and make them part of a moment that could demonstrate what could be achieved when creative ideas were supported on a large scale.
Nora Awolowo, another member of the project, said Black Market started as a story that its creators believed deserved to be told but had developed into something larger through the participation of the audience.