Creative Industry
Musawa Presents UNESCO Certificate To Alaafin of Oyo At Sango World Festival
Joel Ajayi
The Honourable Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Barr. Hannatu Musa Musawa, has presented the UNESCO certificate recognizing the Sango Festival as a World Heritage Festival to the Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade 1. Minister Musawa made the presentation at the grand finale of the 2025 World Sango Festival held over the weekend in Oyo State.
Musawa stated that the achievement marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s cultural landscape, demonstrating the Ministry’s commitment to safeguarding the country’s rich cultural heritage and promoting its powerful tool for international diplomacy and sustainable tourism.
“I heartily congratulate Your Imperial Majesty, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Abdulhakeem Owoade I, the new Sango Chief Priest, the Oyo community, and indeed the entire Yoruba nation on the grand finale of the 2025 World Sango Festival.
” We celebrate not just a festival, but a legacy. Following effective collaboration between the Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy and the Oyo Community, the Sango Festival has now attained global recognition with its inscription by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This milestone firmly places Sango’s rich heritage on the world stage and underscores its importance as a shared global heritage.
“This achievement is a shining gain of the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, through our Ministry’s commitment to safeguarding our rich cultural heritage and promoting it as a powerful tool for international diplomacy and sustainable tourism. The foregoing further strengthens the foundation of our strong cultural identity, geared towards employment generation and wealth creation for sustainable development, empowerment of the host community, and Nigeria,” Musawa said.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Abdulhakeem Owoade I, expressed gratitude to President Tinubu and the Ministry for their renewed commitment to expanding Nigeria’s culture and heritage, which has led to this remarkable feat. The monarch reiterated the Oyo Kingdom’s cooperation with the Administration and the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy to further promote Nigeria’s cultural identity on the global stage.
The 2025 Sango Festival, which drew dignitaries from within and outside the country, served as the backdrop for the certificate presentation, highlighting the festival’s significance as a cultural treasure and a symbol of Nigeria’s rich heritage.
Creative Industry
FG Backs MyCityApp Launch of 100-Day Tourism Calendar to Drive $100bn Economic Growth
Joel Ajayi
The Federal Government has thrown its weight behind the launch of MyCityApp, a Nigerian city discovery and tourism platform designed to aggregate festivals, concerts, cultural events and lifestyle experiences into a single digital calendar.
The platform, which flags off the 100-Day Tourism Calendar, was unveiled on Monday at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos, with the initiative targeting Nigeria’s estimated $100 billion tourism and creative economy opportunity.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Media and Publicity Adviser to the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the ministry said the conference was aimed at mobilising public and private stakeholders to transform the September-to-December festive period into jobs, investment and economic growth.
Speaking at the unveiling, the Minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said millions of visitors travel across Nigeria every year to celebrate, reconnect and experience the country’s diverse culture, stressing that the festive season could be deliberately organised and monetised to strengthen tourism’s contribution to the economy.
“This initiative is about moving beyond the traditional concept of a festive season. It is about deliberately organising, packaging, promoting, and monetising one of the most economically active periods in our national calendar,” Musawa said.
She noted that every visitor generates economic activity across several sectors, including aviation, transportation, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans and local communities.
The Minister commended MyCityApp Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ifeoma Chukwu, for her vision and commitment to the initiative.
She urged state governments, event organisers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses and other stakeholders to list their festivals, concerts, exhibitions, food experiences, cultural celebrations, fashion and sporting events on the national calendar.
Musawa said the platform would enable Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors to discover tourism and entertainment experiences across the country from a single, credible source.
Earlier, Chukwu said Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and creative sector provided enormous opportunities for tourism-driven economic growth.
She cited the contributions of tourism to the economies of countries such as Spain, France and the United States, arguing that Nigeria could equally build a $100 billion tourism economy.
Also present were Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke; NCAC Director-General, Obi Asika; National Gallery of Art Director-General, Ahmed Sodangi; ARCON Director-General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo; and MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr Karl Toriola.
MyLagosApp and MyCityApp will serve as the digital engines of the calendar, distributing events through a 360-degree media ecosystem to audiences in Nigeria and the diaspora.
Stakeholders were encouraged to upload their events on MyCityApp to participate in the national tourism calendar urging them to upload events on http://www.MyCityApp.io.
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