Nigeria to soon generate huge revenue from culture, tourism: official

The Nigerian government has begun to fine-tune the creative industry and tourism sectors to generate huge revenue, an official said on Monday.

Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Lai Mohammed said the West African nation made to move in a bid to shift focus on oil, upon which the country largely depended on for income.

He told reporters in Lagos, the country's commercial hub, that the government would hold a national summit on arts and culture in Abuja later this month to chart a new course for the development of the sector.

According to Mohammed, the summit will bring the relevant stakeholders together to brainstorm on the way forward on how arts, culture and tourism can contribute to national development and huge income generation.

"We cannot depend on the oil sector alone. We need to diversify the economy to arts, culture and tourism," he added.

He said Nigeria will further generate revenues from national festivals by inviting foreign tourists to watch them. Endit