The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Solomon Bonu has extolled the ingenuity of Kunle Afolayan, a multiple award-winner, filmmaker and producer, for his passion in promoting and reinvigorating indigenous cultural artefacts, as well as positively projecting the State Government in his crafts, artworks and some of his creative content.
Bonu, gave the commendation on Friday when he visited the Cultural Centre established by the filmmaker in Ikeja, describing the initiative as a prodigious representation of what arts, culture and tourism represent.
The Special Adviser stated that Afolayan is a strong promoter of Arts and Culture, urging him to collaborate with the government as part of efforts to reposition the Ministry for its rightful position as a regulator of Culture, Arts Tourism and all entertainment related outfits in the State.
He said, “As a policymaker, the government needs your ideas to make things happen in this sector because we must both work together for the development of this industry. On behalf of Mr. Governor, I can assure you of favourable policies from the government and an enabling environment for you to thrive”.
Bonu advised Afolayan to consider specific areas of partnership, assuring him that the Ministry would be ready to work with his outfit in order to put the centre into a more profitable use and also replicate similar initiative from the government’s angle.
Noting that although the activities and budget slated for the year 2020 have been distorted by the outbreak of COVID-19, the Special Adviser informed that plans are already being intensified to revive the entertainment industry.
In his response, Afolayan said that apart from being a filmmaker, producer and art lover, he is also a member of the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture and a stakeholder in the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
He described the centre as a complete entertainment hub, consisting of everything that tourism, arts, culture, film, cinematography, relaxation and many more represent.
In his words, “let me state here that we believe in capacity development for the younger generation and that is why we have classrooms here to teach aspiring practitioners, we have a cinema hall and many more; this is why l referred to this centre as a tourism hub and we hope this represents the State. Although l am already part of the government, I look forward to more partnerships from the Lagos State government”.
Afolayan also expressed confidence that the centre, being a multipurpose facility that has a blend of culture, hospitality, tourism, cinema, music, editing and voice-over, among others, will be a one-stop centre for all fun-seekers and entertainment lovers.
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