Nigeria’s push for economic diversification is increasingly centering on the creative sector as a sustainable engine of growth and global competitiveness.
Industry leaders argue, however, that unlocking its long-term value requires deliberate investment in early childhood development (ECD), where creativity, identity, and learning capacity are first formed.
It was within this context that stakeholders across culture, finance, and the creative industries convened in Lagos for the inauguration of the Creative Industries for Early Childhood Development Coalition — a new initiative aligning Nigeria’s expanding creative economy with national human capital priorities.
The event, hosted by the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC) in collaboration with the World Bank and Ogidi Studios, brought together policymakers, entertainers, development partners, and child advocates under a shared message: the child remains central to civilisation.
Delivering the keynote address, CBAAC Director-General, Aisha Adamu Augie, called for urgent national prioritisation of early childhood development, urging creative professionals to intentionally include children among their primary audiences.
“Our ancestors never separated art from life, or culture from child-rearing,” she said.
“The first classroom was never a building — it was a mother’s lap, a father’s drum, a grandmother’s folktale.
The brain that will one day design empires or lead nations is wired between conception and age five.”
Augie described ages zero to five as the most critical phase of human capital formation. Citing national indicators, she noted that Nigeria bears one of the highest global burdens of child stunting at 40 percent, while only 43.5 percent of children achieve age-appropriate developmental milestones and just 37 percent participate in early childhood programmes.
“These statistics reflect stolen futures,” she warned.
“With Nigeria projected to reach 375 million people by 2050, we must ensure our youthful population becomes a demographic dividend rather than a liability.”
According to her, Nigeria’s creative industries, spanning film, music, animation, and digital storytelling, possess unique capacity to influence parenting behaviours, caregiving practices, and early learning culture at scale.
She urged entertainers to embrace their roles as custodians of values and agents of behavioural transformation.
“Music reaches where policy cannot. Animation speaks where statistics fail. Storytelling reshapes what it means to be a responsible father, a nurturing mother, a protective community,” she said.
“Culture is not decoration; it is the most powerful instrument for social change.”
Also speaking, Yemisi Falaye, Head of Legal at Ogidi Studios, encouraged content creators to produce value-driven works that promote positive social reform, stressing that storytelling across platforms must intentionally nurture young minds.
Culture advocate and actor Fadakemi Olumide highlighted Africa’s traditional child-rearing systems, where families and communities historically served as the first institutions of learning.
In many communities, children absorbed cultural knowledge and vocational skills — from craftsmanship and fishing to music and dance — as part of everyday life.
Speakers acknowledged that rapid technological advancement and globalisation have reshaped childhood experiences.
They emphasised the need to preserve indigenous values while integrating digital technology and artificial intelligence into early learning systems.
The newly inaugurated coalition aims to mobilise Nigeria’s creative ecosystem to reframe caregiving as patriotic responsibility, promote nutrition and early stimulation as aspirational norms, and transform homes into early learning spaces.
Organisers say the initiative will also help bridge rural-urban disparities, ensuring children in underserved communities are not excluded from emerging creative and digital opportunities.
CBAAC reaffirmed its commitment to positioning African arts and culture as living instruments of development rather than static heritage.
“Every child deserves to grow up knowing that their culture believes in them, invests in them, and celebrates them from the very first day of life,” Augie said.
“If we nurture creativity early, we secure not only our cultural heritage, but our economic future.”
The coalition’s launch signals a strategic shift, framing early childhood development not merely as a social priority, but as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s creative and economic transformation.
Written by Chioma Ezike