We should begin to see infrastructure plans move from announcement to execution, clearer investment pipelines emerge, and more deliberate alignment between government, private capital, and practitioners. The critical challenge, and opportunity, is building the foundational systems that allow creativity to scale nationally. Infrastructure, capital access, and policy coherence will determine whether the sector remains talentrich but structurally weak or becomes a true economic engine
By Tony Okuyeme
THE year 2026 is finally here. For the Nigerian arts and culture sector, it promises to be a great year. Given the strings of successes recorded by Nigerian artists in various fields in 2025. From music, to Nollywood, live theatre productions and the visual arts, Nigerian artists have continued to assert their creative prowess, even amid challenges.
Looking back, renowned writer, filmmaker, television producer and the founder and executive producer of Zuri24 Media, Femi Odugbemi, believes that 2025 was a year of resilience and proof of depth. Speaking with New Telegraph, Odugbemi noted that Nigerian arts and culture continued to grow in visibility, talent output and global relevance, even as structural limitations persisted.
“Our artistes and creators keep pushing boundaries, but the year also made it clear that creativity alone cannot sustain growth without the right infrastructure, capital, and policy alignment. He observed that funding remained largely fragmented, stressing that private capital continued to favour music, content with quick returns, and export-facing IP, while film and theatre struggled to access patient capital.
“Public funding showed intent but was slow in execution, with limited catalytic impact at scale,” he said. According to Femi Odugbemi, support shifted more than it increased, and there was greater interest in the “creative economy” as a concept, but less clarity in how support translates into operational systems, particularly for SMEs, mid-sized production companies, and regional institutions outside Lagos.
He added that inclusion remains constrained by geography, infrastructure, and access to capital. “Too much cultural activity is still concentrated in a few urban centres like Lagos, Abuja, Asaba, Kano and maybe Port-Harcourt. Without built-for-purpose spaces and regional investment, vast audiences and creators remain excluded from participation and opportunity.”
Standout artistic achievements recorded in 2025
Music continued to dominate globally, with Nigerian artists sustaining strong international tours and collaborations. In film and television, select projects even in the absence of Netflix and Amazon demonstrated strong global-standard production values and storytelling ambition. A pivotal highlight of course was the fact that ‘Mothers of Chibok’ by Kachi Benson won Nigeria’s first Emmy for documentary.
That’s huge! Festivals, pop-up exhibitions, and curated cultural experiences also showed how hungry audiences are for live, shared cultural moments, when the platforms exist.
Noticeable shift
He noted that there was a “noticeable shift toward more personal, socially reflective, and historically grounded narratives. Creators increasingly explored identity, memory, migration, faith, gender, and generational change, often with greater confidence in local context rather than global validation.”
Concerns
AI presents for artists, cultural institutions Odugbemi averred that AI presents “powerful opportunities for efficiency, archiving, discovery, and experimentation. However, it also raises urgent concerns around IP protection, authorship, and labour displacement.
For African creators, the risk of cultural extraction without compensation is real if regulatory and ethical frameworks lag behind adoption.”
He also noted that the most significant development was the federal government’s evolving approach to tax reform and the formalisation of creative enterprises. While well-intentioned, the lack of phased incentives for creative SMEs risks stifling growth too early in their lifecycle.
Advocacy priorities heading into 2026
Basically the same priorities I have advocated in the last five years or more. Accelerated development of large-scale cultural infrastructure across the major cities of our seven geo-political zones.
A tax-free, time-bound incubation window for creative SMEs. We need to incentivize institutional support for creative producers. Clear public– private partnership frameworks for arts infrastructure. Stronger IP protection and data transparency across the sector.
Major expectations in 2026
I expect 2026 to be a pivotal year. We should begin to see infrastructure plans move from announcement to execution, clearer investment pipelines emerge, and more deliberate alignment between government, private capital, and practitioners.
Most critical challenge going into 2026
The critical challenge, and opportunity, is building the foundational systems that allow creativity to scale nationally. Infrastructure, capital access, and policy coherence will determine whether the sector remains talentrich but structurally weak or becomes a true economic engine.
Odugbemi emphasized that the arts should be treated not as sporadic projects or soft power gestures, but as an integrated economic sector, planned, financed, regulated, and measured with the same seriousness as oil, agriculture, or technology.
- https://newtelegraphng.com/i-expect-2026-to-be-a-pivotal-year-odugbemi/