Nigeria’s Cultural and Creative Industries by Obiaya, Ikechukwu; Alakwe, Kizito Ogedi; Nzeaka, Emmanuel;

Short description:

This book offers a compelling exploration of Nigeria’s vibrant cultural and creative industries, unpacking their core components, challenges, institutional frameworks, and transformative potential for national development. 

Long description:

This book offers a compelling exploration of Nigeria’s vibrant cultural and creative industries, unpacking their core components, challenges, institutional frameworks, and transformative potential for national development. From the role of government and regulatory bodies to the power of local innovation, the volume provides a timely and strategic assessment of how Nigeria’s creative economy is shaping a new narrative for growth.

As Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria boasts a rich cultural mosaic and a growing generation of dynamic creatives making waves both locally and globally. With Nollywood, Afrobeats, and indigenous fashion now commanding international attention, creative output is fast overtaking oil as Nigeria’s most influential export. Through sector-specific case studies, the book critically examines this shift, highlighting high-impact sectors like film, fashion, music, and visual arts, while also shining a light on underexplored industries such as publishing, advertising, and hospitality. It asks bold questions about whether the right structures are in place to truly harness Nigeria’s soft power for economic and social impact.

Providing a thorough and nuanced analysis of Nigeria’s creative landscape, this book will be an important read for researchers, students, and policymakers with an interest in the future of African culture, innovation, identity, and industry.

It is with great honour that I endorse this important publication on Nigeria’s cultural and creative sector. As a nation blessed with rich diversity, vibrant artistic heritage, and a dynamic youth population, Nigeria is uniquely positioned to harness creativity for economic growth, social cohesion, and global relevance. This book offers timely insights into how Nigeria can fully maximize the potential of its creative capital. It critically examines existing structures, challenges, and the reforms needed to build a resilient and competitive sector. More importantly, it aligns with the government’s renewed commitment to reposition the creative economy as a driver of national development. I commend the editors and contributors for producing what is arguably the first of its kind in Africa: a vital resource for policymakers, industry players, academics, and the general public. This work stands as a model of how scholarship, creativity, and policy can come together to unlock a brighter future for our creative industries and the nation.

Barr. Hannatu Musa Musawa, Honourable Minister, Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Exploring Nigeria’s Cultural and Creative Industries: Perspectives, Problems & Prospects is a multi-faceted and deeply layered work that has endeavoured, successfully, to conceptualize and anatomize the vast ecosystem of the nation’s cultural and creative industries. The chapters build up to a value-adding relationship with each other. The overall effect is a nuanced awareness that connects intent with content and content with structure. On the whole, highly readable. Should stimulate research in the emergent discipline that is growing around the interaction of both industries and their ecosystem.

Hyginus Ekwuazi, Professor of Broadcasting & Film, University of Ibadan.

As Nigeria cements its place as a global cultural powerhouse, through our Nollywood films, our afrobeats music, our colourful fashion and digital innovations, this book, ‘The Nigerian Cultural and Creative Industry Ecosystem’ co-authored by Dr. Kizito Alakwe and Dr. Ikechukwu Obiaya, emerges as an important guide for scholars, policymakers, investors, and practitioners alike. It not only maps the sector’s contributions to GDP and employment but also grapples with questions of cultural identity, skills development, and the urgent need for infrastructure and institutional support. It is a crucial step toward grounding the creative sector in evidence-based planning and long-term strategy. It is a rigorous, timely, and illuminating exploration of Nigeria’s creative economy and cultural soft-power at a pivotal moment in their evolution. Best of all it draws  an interesting conceptual framework to carefully unpack policy, regulation, and the interplay between government and industry players. Highly recommended reading indeed.

Femi Odugbemi, Filmmaker, Screenwriter, Producer, and Media Executive.

Table of Contents:

List of Tables

List of Figures and Charts

List of Contributors

1. The Nigerian Cultural and Creative Industry Ecosystem: A Conceptual Overview

Kizito Ogedi Alakwe and Ikechukwu Obiaya

 2. Conceptualising Culture in the Nigerian Cultural and Creative Industry

Kizito Ogedi Alakwe, Jemimah Ogechi Ekechi and Emmanuel Ezimako Nzeaka.

3. Taxonomy of the Creative Industries: An Evaluation of the Cultural and Creative Sectors of the Nigerian Economy

Kizito Ogedi Alakwe

4. Evolving Rhythms: The Nigerian Music Industry and its Role in Economic Development and Cultural Sustainability

Samuel A. Adejube

5. The Nigerian Fashion Industry: Historical Insights, Supply Chain Dynamics and Pathways for Growth

Morolake Dairo

6. Nollywood: Tracing the Evolution and Economic Impact of Nigeria’s Film Industry

Oluyinka Smart Babalola

7. Cultural Expression: Exploring the Diversity and Impact of Nigerian Performing Arts.

Emmanuel Ezimako Nzeaka

8. Nigerian Advertising Sub-sector in a Digitised World

Ubong-Abasi Inemesit Usoroh

9. Architecture and the Nigerian Cultural and Creative Industry: The Past, the Present, and the Future.

Beryl Ehondor

10. Digital Transformation of Book Publishing in Nigeria: Stillbirth, Stunted Growth or Both?

Nwachukwu Andrew Egbunike

11. Revitalising the Nigerian Tourism Sector: Strategies for Growth and Global Competitiveness.

Nneka G. Isaac-Moses, Philip Egga Maga, Kizito Ogedi Alakwe.

12. Navigating Growth in Nigeria’s Visual Arts Industry: Trends and Transformations

Kizito Ogedi Alakwe and Prisca Sam-Duru

13. New Media with New Trends: Digitalisation and the use of Social Media in the Nigerian Music Industry.

Wale Adedeji

14. Cultivating Creative Excellence through Entrepreneurship in the Nigerian Cultural and Creative Industries

Kizito Ogedi Alakwe, Helen Ese Emore and Ikechukwu Obiaya

15. Education and Capacity Building for the Creative Industries

Ikechukwu Obiaya

16. Nigeria’s Orange Economy: Riding on the Wave of Globalisation

Frederick Ojore Mordi

17. Pathways to Growth and Development: Policy Directions for Nigeria's Cultural and Creative Industries

Kizito Ogedi Alakwe

Index