The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, said on Sunday that Nigeria has the potential to earn over $20bn annually from the creative industry.

Emefiele said this at the official handover of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos to the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee.

The Bankers’ Committee had in December 2018 agreed to set up the Creative Industries and Financing Initiative (CIFI) with a major focus on four pillars: music, movies, fashion and Information Technology. Towards the realization of its objective, the Bankers’ Committee intends to support this creative venture with about N25 billion of initial funding.

The National Theatre is expected to serve as the initial pilot for the Nigeria Creative Industries Centre.

The Creative Industries Centre, which comprises music, movies, fashion and ICT and is expected to be completed in 18 months, could be a key source of growth for the economy, creating up to 1 million jobs for the country’s teeming youths, Emefiele said.

“Our goal for the National Theatre is to create an environment where startups and existing businesses are rewarded for their creativity. The National Theatre, when fully renovated, will be able to support skills acquisition and job creation for over 1 million Nigerians over the next five years. These Nigerians will be empowered with funds at single-digit interest rate, high level training using state-of-the-art tools, and networks that will enable them to turn their ideas into a reality,” Emefiele said.

“It will also aid our objective of reducing our dependence on revenues from crude oil. India, for example, in 2018, generated over $240bn from exports of IT, movies, music and fashion-related goods and services. This amount is over five times our annual earnings from the sale of crude oil.

“With our human capital resources and an enabling environment that will help harness the creative talents of our youths, Nigeria has the potential to earn over $20bn annually from the creative industry,” he said.