Ayakoroma moves to the next level !

When praying at the closing ceremony of the National Festival of Arts and Culture(NAFEST), Minna, Niger State 2009, Barclays Ayakoroma thanked God for the fact that NAFEST had moved to another level. As it happens, God was busy that moment preparing him(Barclays) for moving to another level. And so, Barclays Ayakoroma (Phd) is the new Executive Secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation(NICO).

We let you know earlier of the dynamism of this young icon of the Cultural Sector in our posting on the Bayelsa State Council for Arts and Culture, which he was in charge of then. Well, he did not leave that dynamism out of his approach to the new job.

Just go over to the NICO site and see for yourself. That is only a sign of the many great things this cultural administrator is intending to do at NICO, of which we shall be informing you as they unfold.

What Is The Nigerian Cultural Sector ?

So what excactly constitutes the Nigerian Cultural Sector ?

At the core of the Nigerian Cultural Sector structure is a ministerial department that goes by the name - Federal Department of Culture.

Complementing it at the Federal level are the following extra-ministerial departments :

(i) the National Council for Arts and Culture ( NCAC )
(ii) the National Commission for Museums and Monuments ( NCMM )
(iii) the National Gallery of Arts (NGA)
(iv) the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO)
(v) the Centre for Black Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC)
(vi) the National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN) and
(vii) the National Theatre Management Board ( NTMB)


Officially, the following are no more part of the Cultural Sector but continue to have cultural relevance :

(i) the National Copyright Commission (NCC) and
(ii) the National Archives.

Virtually all the 37 states of the Federation and the National Capital Territory have their equivalents of the National Council for Arts and Culture though they are known variously as : State Council for Arts and Culture, Cultural Centre Board orHistory and Culture Bureau.

Also to be added to the sector structure are the Professional Associations like the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners(NANTAP), the Society of Nigerian Theatre Artistes ( SONTA), the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) etc, the Non-Governmental Organisations including the foreign ones like the British Council, the Alliance Francaise, the Italian Cultural Institute etc, the Performing Troupes, the Exhibition Groups like AKA etc and finally, the myriad of unassociated artists and artistes.