CHALLENGES

 

1.      FUNDING PROBLEMS:

 

During my four year tenure as a member of the House Committee on Culture and Tourism, poor funding was the biggest obstacle to the smooth running of the Culture and Tourism sector.  With budgetary allocations of less than 1% of the annual national budget, the Ministry was at the lowest budgetary rung.  Even when the National Assembly appropriated funds, the president constituted another implementation committee under the finance ministry to reduce these appropriated votes.  To worsen matters, not all of the reduced votes were released to the ministries and agencies.  An analysis of the 2005 budget is very instructive in this matter.

 

a)      Nigerian Copyright Commission

Capital allocation by appropriation act was N524,818,655 but was reduced by implementation committee to N50,000,000.

Amount Released        =       N 3,750.000

Percentage                            =       N 7.5%

 

b)      National Commission for Museums and Monument

Capital allocation as appropriated by the National Assembly was N520,800,000 but reduced by the implementation committee of the Finance Ministry to N408,307,200.

 

By the second quarter of 2005, no money had been released.

 

c)      The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation

The NTDC capital project as approved by the National Assembly was N141,050,000 and was reduced to N110,583,200 by the implementation committee.

Amount released                   =       N19,400,000

Percentage releases   =       N17.55%

 

d)      The National Council for Arts and Culture

The NCAC got N133,875,000 from the National Assembly which was later reduced to N104,956,000 by the implementation committee.

Amount released                   =       N1,875,000

Percentage                            =       N1.79%.     

  

e)      The National Gallery of Arts

The National Gallery got an initial appropriation for its capital to the sum of N525,000,000 which was later reduced to N409,500,000.

Amount released                   =       N34,968,500

Percentage                            =       N8.54%

 

f)       Centre for Black African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC)

CBAAC got N118,000,000 from the National Assembly.  This amount was reduced to N92,040,000 by the implementation committee out of which N29,500,000.

 

g)      National Theatre

N850,000,000 was appropriated but reduced to N663,000,000 out of which N22,874,979 representing 3.43% was released.

 

h)      The National Troupe was the luckiest in the 2005 budget when it was able to assess about 50% of its approved capital allocation amounting to N39,000,000 out of its N78,000,000.

 

The above analysis captures the general budgetary trend for the 2003 – 2007 period and could thus explain why the culture sector found it difficult to carry out its official functions.

 

It is also to be noted that appropriations by the National Assembly which is expected to have taken into cognizance all the expectations   of the stakeholders in that sector is a law which shored not be altered by any person outside the National Assembly.  However, President Obasanjo in his own wisdom never implemented the budgets as passed by the National Assembly throughout his four year tenure.  The president’s excuse for this executive lawlessness was the fact that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had advised him that the budgets as passed by the National Assembly if implemented, would cause inflation in the country.    

 

Unfortunately, the National Assembly which should have opposed this flagrant disrespect for the constitution was held to ransom by the overbearing influence of the ruling party which insisted that its members who form the majority in the National Assembly must obey the party’s policy.  The few legislators who were members of the ruling party who wanted to oppose this anomaly, could not do so out of the fear of being disciplined by their party for party disloyalty .

 

2.      The Cultural Policy / Endowments for the Arts

 

Another handicap against the effective management of the cultural sector is the absence of a cultural policy as well as the Endowments for the Arts.  Produced since 1988, the cultural policy is still being reworked and reviewed with the active involvement of cultural workers, scholars.  Various committees have been set up to collaborate with UNESCO in order to make the document very relevant to culture and tourism in the country.

 

Under the sectoral policies, section of the document, the support for Artistic and Literary creation has been included.

 

If finally passed, the policy will among other thing make provision for a Federal Fund for the association to artists and purchase of the needed materials.  Other types of support available to artists or writers depend on cultural industries that are directly involved or influence artistic and literary creation.

 

There are other provisions in the policy for the assistance of members of the arts community such as writers, musicians, artists, actors among other.

 

Unfortunately, several years after its first production, the cultural  policy is still being worked upon.