Who Needs Arts and Craft in a Transformation Agenda?

Abstract

It is not easy to understand the mind of African governments with regard to the existence of a defined (Cultural) policy on the role of craft in development. What is however obvious is the reluctance (or seeming reluctance) of successive African governments to take indigenous craft as an important platform for national development. The government’s acquisitions of facilities, furniture, and other goods for official use demonstrate a shameless preference for foreign goods over and above indigenous ones. This is even so where indigenous goods are clearly of higher quality than the imported ones. For example, the current flashy doors and furniture from Dubai and China are preferred to the indigenous stronger and more durable wooden and steel panel doors. Importmania, today in Nigeria and perhaps several African countries remain a major blockage to authentic national development with roots in indigenous cultural heritage. Demas Nwoko (2005), speaking about our obsession with foreign goods, in a conversation with Ikwuemesi and five other members of the Pan-African Circle of Artists (PACA) observed, “As I often pointed out in my writing we became consumers and now we have unwittingly drifted to donating ourselves to slavery again.”