It was a midnight call and his voice was a bit wearied, oh yes Olusegun Mattew Runsewe is human afterall but deep down, you credit him with strength and doggedness, beyond what the average man can contend with.
“My sheep know me”, Jesus Christ had taught about those who follow him very deeply and in Runsewe’s case, having watched and worked with him at close quarters, there are usually no dull moments no matter the stress and weariness of the body, his spirit and love for Nigeria is always willing.
So this night, the engagement was on how to encourage foreign ambassadors resident in Nigeria to be part of our cultural renaissance and rebirth. Runsewe did it two years and many thought it was mere showmanship. Nigeria has never been strategic in the quest to create windows of marketing and promotion of our cultural tourism products and it hurts the dream, the expectations and the endowments.
To Runsewe, from Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and now National Council for Arts and Culture, the quest has always been the need to operationalize the business of these critical soft side of the economy in such a way that everyone can feel it, gain from it and define its interest.
That midnight conversation which has become an established face of our engagements and process of assessment of his dream policy actions, rekindled the need to continue to understand and interpret the platform of the ambassadorial gathering for our culture, arts economy.
Trust the ambassadors, many who listened with their hearts, to Nigeria’s crafts trajectory and not over mere official pronouncement, the need to understand and help Nigeria get its numerous and diverse cultural attributes and endowments properly interpreted in the fluid and sometimes, politically driven international cultural arts, crafts economy resonates with Runsewe’s agenda for Nigeria’s culture.
There are ordinary Nigerians, accomplished arts and crafts pundits and critics, even top government and national assembly members who are irritated by the singular determination by Runsewe to court the international window to our arts and crafts business which many would also agree, is gradually being swallowed by foreign cultural irritants and strange influence.
Europeans, Americans and the Chinese, lately the Arabs gestures into global economy not only with financial muscles and aids, these powers and world economic influencers can be felt through their culture and way of life-fashion, food, arts/crafts and languages in the new partitioned global village.
To therefore, get record full attendance of top diplomats, representatives and ambassadors of over thirty six nations resident in Nigeria to a day dedicated to understanding the full measure and strength of Nigeria culture, arts and crafts is note mission for boy scouts.
Indeed and significantly, Runsewe once again brought the full glare of Nigeria culture into one spot, a close proximity to global game changers, men and women who speaks for their governments and peoples to sit out and engage the full impact and richness of our diverse culture, the creativity, uniqueness and rural jobs opening dimension that stands Nigeria as nation in nations, not easily seen in Africa, even the Chinese with their numbers would envy the drive this accomplished cultural drive and influencer.
The International Arts and Crafts (INAC) exposition as Nigeria’s gift to the world, is statement of strength and vision, and if sustained, the world, not just Africa would stand out heads proud that Nigeria is indeed the culture, arts and crafts power house of Africa. Can we say Amen to that!!
Is there domination in this realm? The African space in this business needs global engagement and that Nigeria under Runsewe has strategically created a product with a buy-in by foreign diplomats and businesses, places Nigeria in top bracket of culture game changers with our numerous artists and creative economists roundly exploited in the past, left with timely opportunity to walk the world stage with their products. Check out the pictures from the ambassadorial pre INAC dinner, then interprete and key into the agenda Nigerian Arts and Crafts.