The National Theatre moved to integrate artists from Northern Nigeria into the mainstream of the country’s creative economy through a deliberate push focused on funding, financial literacy, and practical skills.
The General Manager of the National Theatre, Tola Akerele, stated this at the Kano Creative Summit for Kano artists on Thursday, saying the program was conceived to address the imbalance in access to opportunities for the arts.
According to Akerele, “the summit exists because some energy and creativity live in every corner of this country, not only in Lagos, to decentralize access to the tools, knowledge and opportunities the creative economy runs on, and to put them within reach of practitioners far beyond the cities where they are usually concentrated.”
She noted that the decision to site the engagement in Kano was intentional and not symbolic adding “the North has long contributed to Nigeria’s cultural life and deserves the same infrastructure and support systems available in other hubs.”
“This belongs here as much as anywhere in the country, not as an afterthought but as a recognition of what this city has always contributed to Nigeria’s creative life,” she added.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Theater stressed that the drive matters most for sectors that have been historically underserved. “This matters a lot especially for the visual and performing arts, and of course for film,”
“Kano is the home of Kannywood, one of Nigeria’s great film industries, bringing financial literacy and market structures to the region would help practitioners convert talent into sustainable careers.
In her opening remarks at the National Theatre Kano Creative Summit 2026, she noted that Kano has a long history of craftsmanship, music, literature and festivals, and that the challenge was not lack of talent but lack of structure to turn culture into sustainable businesses.
She said government, the private sector and development partners must invest in infrastructure, skills, financing, digital tools and IP protection.
According to her, the theme “Beyond Lagos” was a call to expand Nigeria’s creative economy across all regions and harness the energy of Northern youth for jobs, tourism and investment.
Participants at the summit were being taken through sessions on IP protection, funding models, digital distribution, and how to build viable creative businesses.
Ahmad Sorondinki
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