Minister of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has initiated a strategic collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to gather reliable data that will support the transformation of Nigeria’s creative economy. She emphasized that having accurate data would help track the contributions of the creative industry to the national GDP and allow for more targeted policies to drive the sector’s growth.

During a recent meeting with the Statistician General, Adeyemi Adeniran, and NBS executives in Abuja, Musawa highlighted the lack of data on key creative sub-sectors. She noted that the absence of comprehensive tracking mechanisms had previously left the creative industry unaccounted for in national statistics.

“Data is crucial as we build policies that will enhance the GDP. Before this administration, the creative industry was, unfortunately, absent from national data tracking. We must now systematically document and integrate the contributions of creative players to the GDP,” Musawa stated. She explained that the newly established Ministry’s focus, aligned with Nigeria’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025), makes a partnership with NBS essential to generate high-quality, government-owned data for effective policy planning and execution.

The Minister explained that accurate data would serve as the foundation for targeted policies and interventions to stimulate the growth of the creative economy, thereby contributing to national development. She expressed optimism that the collaboration would create a robust mechanism for tracking and nurturing Nigeria’s creative space.

Adeniran, in his response, commended the Minister’s initiative, underscoring the NBS’s readiness to provide socio-economic data vital for informed policy-making. He emphasized that NBS would examine existing data and work closely with the Ministry to address any gaps relevant to the Ministry’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

“We will supply the Ministry with essential data, and where there are gaps, NBS will collaborate to fill those gaps according to the Ministry’s performance metrics. Once a baseline is established, the Ministry can continuously collect and track data to measure progress over time,” Adeniran assured.

Dr. Ngozi Onwudiwe, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, applauded the Minister’s proactive approach, stressing that data is fundamental to planning and achieving performance benchmarks set by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. She noted that the new committee, led by Musawa and herself, would work with technocrats from NBS and the Ministry to begin the data collection process for the art and culture sector, setting a strong foundation for the industry’s sustainable growth.