CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Group Head, Public Sector West of the FirstBank of Nigeria (FBN), Dr. Timothy Arowoogun, has declared that the creative arts has the potential of boosting the economy of the country through promotion and exportation to the outside world.
Arowoogun, who said this in Ibadan, at the premiere of a stage play, “Oke Langbodo”, at the Wole Soyinka Theatre, University of Ibadan, stated that the bank is committed to support anything linked with creative arts because it is a big business.
He said, “As a bank, we have aligned ourselves with creative arts in Nigeria and Africa because FirstBank is a global institution and we believe that we can sponsor the industry.
“It is like the Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs), which is one of our core areas of support. In Nigeria, without supporting the real sector, which creative arts, we believe, is part of it, we can’t go anywhere.”
He maintained that to bring down the rising foreign exchange in the country, Nigeria needed to build and support its SMEs to export goods and services thereby limiting the level of importation.
The Chief Executive Director, Creazioni Network and Executive Producer of the stage play, Otunba Ayodeji Osibogun, lauded FirstBank, under its First@Arts initiative, for partnering with the company to produce the play.
According to him, “Oke Langbodo is a Yoruba folklore that has been adapted into various forms of literature, including plays, novels, and poems. The story is often seen as a metaphor for life’s journey, with Langbodo representing the human spirit’s resilience in the face of adversity.”
