Hannatu Musawa, the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, on Friday called for collaboration of the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) to provide government-generated data to drive Nigeria’s creative industry.

The minister made the call when the statistician general, Adeyemi Adeniran, and top management staff of the NBS paid her a courtesy visit.

“We find ourselves at a juncture where collaboration with the National Bureau is integral to ensure the successful design and implementation of high-quality, government-owned data which aligns with ethical standards and best practices.

“Your expertise is invaluable, and together, we can lay the foundation for a comprehensive, accurate, and government-owned dataset that will articulate our commitment to excellence,” the minister said.

Ms Musawa sought NBS’s expertise following the absence of data on the sub-sectors under the ministry’s mandate.

She said, “I realised that prior to this administration, the creative industry was regrettably unaccounted for within the national statistics.

“The absence of systematic tracking of creative players and their contributions to our national GDP became glaring.

“Collaboratively, we envision building a mechanism that will track and actively contribute to the development of the Nigerian creative space.”

According to the minister, accurate data on the ministry will propel policies and interventions to foster the growth of the creative sector and contribute substantially to the national economy and development.

Responding, Mr Adeniran said the NBS was ready to work with the ministry under Ms Musawa’s watch.

He said NBS was willing to assess and generate a comprehensive data analysis on creative contributors to the nation’s Gross domestic product (GDP).

Mr Adeniran said the NBS’ mandate was to generate daily socio-economic data, starting from policy and decision-making.

“NBS will look into the database to see what can be released to the ministry on activities of art, culture, and the country’s creative economy sector.

“We will provide the ministry with the baseline, and where there are gaps in line with the ministry’s key performance indicators, NBS will look at the gaps and discuss it with the ministry’s representatives,” he said.

(NAN)