Otunba Runsewe: Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture

Chief Olusegun Runsewe, Director-General (DG) for the National Council for Arts and Crafts (NCAC), said International Arts and Crafts Expo has created a platform for local artists to network internationally.

Runsewe said this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja during the `Bangladesh Day’ at the Expo, organised by the council, with the theme: Networking Nigerian Arts and Crafts to the World.

The DG reiterated that the expo was created to expose the untapped arts and crafts potentials of the ordinary Nigerians to the world.

According to him, Africans are not aware that “some of our crafts produced in Nigeria are taken abroad to be sold and they take the credit for them”.

“So I decided for our traditional arts and crafts to open a new window where the ordinary Nigerian people can interact with all the networking platforms.

“This will develop arts and crafts in the history of the world. We have more than seven countries.

“Right now some of our creative industry people have made some connections.

“They’ve made some network, so one other fundamental missing item is e-selling, e-marking which our people have not been taking advantage of.

“Now people use Facebook, Instagram and these platforms to discuss love and greetings using the platform to do business too.

So we’ve been able to untap and unlock that platform again so a lot of Nigerians, even the ordinary woman selling peanut can excel,‘’ he said.

He said at the end of the event, NCAC would be launching the International Cultural Democracy for Peace because that’s the missing link.

“God willing, we will be launching the first ever international cultural democracy for peace, which is the missing link why we are having all the hate speeches and disagreement.

“If we diplomatically accept our culture as it is, there will be less friction.