Select committee: Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 18
Seventh Report - Lagos calling: Nigeria and the Integrated Review
Published 29 Apr 2022
Paragraph 48
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Foreign Affairs Committee Implementing the Integrated Review in Nigeria All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Investment in, and support for, Nigerian creative arts bring social and economic benefits for Nigerians. Investment builds on the UK’s soft power as a champion of the arts, helping maintain its position as a leader in the worldwide music industry. We recommend the FCDO support the development of the Afrobeats genre, and other Nigerian creative arts, through: a) Funding proposed projects and broadcasters, such as the BBC World Service, aimed at extending the access of Nigerian creative arts to a wider audience. b) Supporting initiatives aiming to use the creative arts as a tool for reconciliation, development and empowerment in Nigerian society. Such initiatives should seek to support emerging artists from disadvantaged backgrounds and the approach should be outlined in the integrated delivery plan for Nigeria. c) Championing cross-government policies that encourage the cultural exchange between the UK and Nigeria including a track to make it easier for Nigerian musicians to perform in the UK as well as support for creative artists in maintaining the intellectual property rights over their work. The FCDO could consider initiating a UK-Nigeria Creative Arts Hub with DCMS that would allow for greater collaboration between artists. It could also facilitate access for artists to UK organisations which assist in development and training.
From: Foreign Affairs Committee, Seventh Report - Lagos calling: Nigeria and the Integrated Review (HC 202), paragraph 48, 29 April 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 13 July 2022 (deadline 29 June 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government partially agrees with the Committee's recommendation on a Nigeria delivery plan, stating that it does "not agree that we should publish a new integrated delivery plan within the next six months".
- The Government says an internal cross-government strategy already runs to 2023 and that it "will therefore look to refresh" it after the election, and will run a "light touch process" to develop One-HMG country plans "in due course".
- On the Benin Bronzes and colonial legacy it agrees with the recommendation, noting that museums operate independently of Government and decisions on collections are taken by each institution's trustees.
- It does not agree to quotas for the Nigerian civil service in skills programming, and does not agree to ring-fence support to human rights projects or British Council programming.
- It will continue funding the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub for 2022-23, and "potentially" to March 2025, "subject to final ODA allocations".