The Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI) has pledged its support for the forthcoming National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy, with its president, Ambassador Emmanuel Obi Okafor, describing Nigeria’s creative sector as a largely untapped economic resource.
Okafor said Nigeria’s enormous creative talent could become a major economic force, potentially surpassing oil if properly developed and harnessed.
He spoke on Thursday in Abuja while receiving the organising committee of the summit, led by former Minister of Information and Culture and Managing Partner of Bruit Costaud, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The summit, organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in collaboration with Bruit Costaud, is scheduled for October 6 to 8, 2026, at the National Theatre in Lagos.
Okafor said AANI would deploy its extensive network in the public and private sectors to mobilise support for the event.
He lamented Nigeria’s continued dependence on oil despite its enormous talent in music, film, drama, sports and the arts.
“The Orange Economy, or what we call the Creative Economy, is a concept that people have forgotten, but you find out that we are so endowed with creative talents,” he said.
He pointed to the global success of Nigerian music and Nollywood, as well as the country’s talent in football, theatre and the arts, as evidence of the sector’s economic potential.
“We have a lot, but we have never harnessed it. Talk about football talent. Talk about the drama. We have a Nobel Prize Winner, Professor Wole Soyinka. We have so many wonderful dramatists, but what have we done? We are all concentrated on oil to the detriment of the other sectors,” Okafor said.
He called for deliberate policies, investment in infrastructure, skills development and an enabling business environment to unlock the sector’s full potential.
Okafor disclosed that Set 48 of NIPSS had been mandated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to conduct research into the Orange Economy and examine international best practices for developing the sector.
He said the research was important because the creative economy currently contributes relatively little to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product despite its potential.
“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, this Orange or Creative Economy contributes about only 5.2 per cent to the GDP, but the government is planning that by 2031, it will contribute 10 per cent to our GDP,” he said.
The AANI president urged the Federal Government to ensure that recommendations from NIPSS research were translated into practical policies and programmes.
He said AANI’s membership, which includes former Heads of State, traditional rulers, military and security chiefs, former Inspectors General of Police, diplomats, governors, senior civil servants and labour leaders, positioned the association to support the initiative.
Earlier, Mohammed urged AANI to take ownership of the summit and mobilise stakeholders for its success.
He said the summit was part of NIPSS’s contribution to President Tinubu’s ambition of growing Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion by 2030 through alternative sources of wealth, including the Orange Economy.
“The Summit is organised by your alma mater, NIPSS, and will hold from October 6 to 8, 2026, at the National Theatre in Lagos, as part of NIPSS’ contribution to Mr. President’s target of growing Nigeria’s economy to US$1 trillion by 2030. My company, Bruit Costaud, is facilitating.
“But this should be a project the entire NIPSS family can be proud of, and no one is better placed to drive that than the alumni,” he said.
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