The Nigerian official also tapped into the country’s upcoming presence at the Venice Biennale, which she said would help “redefine Nigeria” to the world.

Qatar’s partnership with Nigeria under the new government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would help take Abuja “into the future,” Hannatu Musa Musawa, Nigeria’s Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy told Doha News on Sunday.

“This is a new government, a new government with a huge amount of burden on its shoulders to do something different, to bring innovation and really take Nigeria into the future. And it is with the collaborations and the partnerships of countries such as Qatar we’re able to do that,” Musawa said.

The Nigerian official’s remarks came during her visit to Doha as Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who came to office last May, visited the country. 

The president’s visit marked another step in developing Qatar and Nigeria’s ties, with five memoranda and two agreements signed on Sunday.

The memoranda covered education, agriculture, youth and sports, tourism, and cooperation between both countries’ ministries of interior. The agreements signed entailed establishing a businessmen’s council and regulating manpower.

This was also Musawa’s first visit to Qatar, which she found “absolutely delectable.”

“It is almost like a dream resort to come to. Of course, I had an idea of what I was to expect, but really it has completely surpassed my expectations. It is a beautiful country and the people are so welcoming,” she said.

Musawa added that Qatar and Nigeria can engage in “very meaningful partnerships” especially with both countries sharing several cultural and religious commonalities. 

“When it comes to the Islamic art and the way that they’ve been able to cultivate that, there’s a huge community in Nigeria that also, you know, wants to cultivate this Islamic art,” she explained as she recounted her visits to museums in Doha.

“One of the main areas that I saw with Qatar is a government that is looking at the future and the next generation. And this is exactly what this new [Nigerian] administration is looking at,” she said.

Presenting Nigeria to the world

When speaking about Nigeria’s cultural wealth, one cannot miss the country’s upcoming presence at the prestigious 2024 Venice Biennale, running between April 20 and November 24.

Nigeria is set to have its second pavilion at the exhibition during this year’s edition of the event under the title of “Nigeria Imaginary.” Abuja is set to have nine Nigerian and Nigerian diasporic artists.

The country had a remarkable first presence during the 2017 edition with the participation of three contemporary Nigerian artists—Peju Alatise, Victor Ehikhamenor, and Qudus Onikeku.

Commenting on Nigeria’s pavilion this year, Musawa said the country is planning on doing “something completely different.”

“It really is a very, very exciting thing. I won’t be able to divulge too much because this time we want to do something completely different,” she said.

Musawa said such exhibitions fall in line with the government’s goal of “redefining Nigeria.”

“It is with festivals such as the Venice Biennale that will be able to do that. What Nigeria has is a huge amount of culture and huge amounts of content. When you look at our music, our films, our fashion at the moment, the whole world is interested in what Nigeria has to offer,” she said.

Seeking to invite the world to visit Nigeria, Musawa noted that the country is currently focusing on developing its infrastructure and establishing a framework that would “give an enabling environment.”

“What we want to do in the next couple of years is really turn Nigeria into the creative hub of the world and the cultural hub of Africa[…]I think in the next couple of years, the world is going to see a whole different Nigeria, especially when it comes to this industry and to this sector,” she said.