Oyo moves to boost arts, crafts exports through investment forum
By Adewale Owoade
The Oyo State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to leveraging culture, tourism and the creative economy to drive economic growth, attract investment and expand export opportunities.
The Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr. Wasiu Olatubosun, stated this during a press briefing to announce the Oyo State Business Forum 2026, themed, “Investment and Export Promotion of Arts and Crafts Business in Oyo State.”
He said the administration of Gov. Seyi Makinde had moved beyond viewing culture as merely a preservation of tradition to recognising it as a viable component of the creative economy.
The commissioner cited the Sango Festival, recently inscribed by UNESCO on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as evidence of the state’s growing international cultural profile.
According to him, the recognition has elevated the annual festival in Oyo town into an international attraction, drawing thousands of visitors and media attention from Africa, Europe and the Americas.
He added that the Sango Festival is one of only two festivals in South-West Nigeria with UNESCO recognition, alongside the Osun-Osogbo Festival.
Olatubosun also highlighted the growing international profile of the World Egungun Festival, which was repackaged as a tourism and entertainment product in 2024.
He said the festival had continued to attract international visibility and diaspora interest, particularly from Brazil, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago.
”When we started in 2024, we recorded between 6,000 and 7,000 attendees. In 2025, attendance grew to over 17,000, while this year we welcomed more than 19,000 visitors, with over 50 per cent coming from outside Oyo State,” he said.
The commissioner disclosed that an initial group of 25 foreign visitors interested in traditional initiation rites was expected in the state later this year.
”They may not be paying for initiation, but they will spend their dollars here. Those resources will circulate within our economy. That is the economic value of culture,” he added.
He further disclosed that the ministry was partnering with the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, to document the state’s cultural assets.
He said the ministry was also collaborating with the Office of the Special Adviser on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to facilitate access to international markets for local creative entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of OYSIPA, Mr. Tilewa Folami, represented by the Director of Public-Private Partnerships, Mr. Adebisi Ajayi, said the forum was designed to showcase investment opportunities in the state’s arts and crafts sector.
”Our objective is to attract investors into the arts and crafts industry and promote business activities in the state. We want investors to leverage the opportunities provided through government support, partnerships and a conducive business environment,” he said.
The consultant to the forum, Mr. Lawal Akolade, said the economic potential of the sector remained largely untapped due to inadequate documentation and research.
”The market for arts and culture in Oyo State is virtually limitless. We cannot fully quantify its value until we properly explore and document the opportunities within the sector,” he said.
Akolade noted that thousands of artisans, including carvers, sculptors and weavers, contributed to an industry whose products already enjoyed international demand, with several traditional artefacts displayed in museums across Europe.
Also speaking, renowned visual artist and cultural ambassador, Chief Tunde Odunlade, described art and culture as Nigeria’s only true finished export.
”If they take our crude oil, they refine it abroad and sell it back to us at a higher price. But art leaves this country as a finished product,” he said.
Odunlade, who has practised in New York for more than 50 years, described Oyo as the cradle of contemporary Nigerian art and called for increased investment in culture, tourism and the creative economy.
The Oyo State Business Forum 2026 is expected to bring together investors, artists, craftsmen, exporters, policymakers and development partners to explore investment opportunities in the state’s creative sector and position Oyo as a leading destination for cultural and tourism investment.
