After a tour of the Qatar National Museum, President Bola Tinubu vowed to replicate the same cultural documentation to boost Nigeria’s creative industry.
Tinubu said he was inspired by the country’s expansive 39,994 square metre original palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al-Thani during his two-day working visit to the Gulf state.
“It is great to document culture from the beginning of history, the culture of civilization, collaborations, challenges and perseverance of leadership,” President Tinubu said.
Speaking on his plan to replicate the Qatar cultural experience, the President said, “We still have a long way to go. I am glad I am here. It is a great honour; you learn every day of your life.
“This is absolutely amazing because you really do get inspiration. We have a plan to do a national museum and a number of museums all over Nigeria and across some of our missions abroad.”
The Minister of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa who was part of the president’s entourage, said such a project would add value to the creative industry.
“So, this has been a great inspiration and I can see where we can tap into their wealth of knowledge of what they have done here in Qatar and be able to add value to the arts, culture and creative economy within Nigeria,” said Musawa.
In attendance during the tour were Ministers of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar; Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite; Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Ibrahim; and Health and Coordinating Minister of Social Welfare, Ali Pate.
Recall that the Gulf state of Qatar made a U-turn, after snubbing the proposed business meeting with Nigerian PresidentTinubu.
A leaked memo had shown that Qatar rejected the business meeting due to the lack of existing agreement between the two countries on business or private sector activities.
Earlier, the Explainer had reported how Qatar turned down the bid by the Nigerian government to hold a Business and Investment Forum (BIF) on the sidelines of Tinubu’s proposed visit to the oil-rich country.
In the leaked memo, Qatar also cited the unavailability of Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the country’s minister of commerce and industry as a reason for turning down the business proposal.
However, in a later note verbale, the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Abuja said the event will hold “as proposed by the Nigerian side.”
