The Lagos State Government is set to empower over 2.5 million youths in Arts and Crafts in order to make them self-reliant and economically independent.

The Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Solomon Bonu, disclosed this during the recent annual creative industry skills acquisition workshop organized by the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture.

Speaking at the four-day event, tagged “Unlocking the Potential of the Innate Creativity for Sustainable Development”, designed to equip participants for employability opportunities, Bonu noted that the present administration is poised to empower over 2.5 million youths through Arts and Crafts.

He said, “The present administration is committed to empowering about 2.5 million youths through arts and crafts. This is in addition to the provision of start-up credit facilities for them through the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment”.

The Special Adviser noted that the programme will help to expand opportunities in the area of entrepreneurship and enhance productivity.

In her address, the Director of Arts and Culture, Mrs. Saidat Otulana, stated that the creative industry has a cultural origin with the potential to generate wealth while creating millions of home-grown jobs, as well as enhancing the nation’s capacity, thereby impacting positively on the economy.

Otulana noted that the annual workshop has proven to be an avenue to explore the prospects inherent in the creative industry in the State and implored the youths to seize the lifetime opportunity to continually improve on skills acquired by regularly upgrading themselves.

The workshop was introduced by the Council for Arts and Culture in 2015. This year’s edition had participants trained by experts in specific fields namely tie and dye, batik fabric making, craft decor production, Ankara accessories making, and natural cosmetics production.

The workshop, the fifth in the series, is part of ongoing efforts by the government to groom entrepreneurs and build new businesses towards the realization of the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of the present administration.