There’s money beyond Oil and Gas in the Niger Delta
“Without hospitality, there will be no investment; and domiciled in the Niger Delta is a rich culture, heritage and a people searching for a way to express themselves through the arts and monetize everything they have there,” Koko, who is also the Director General of Rivers State Tourism Development Agency revealed.
He said for too long the narrative of insecurity had been falsely promoted about the region and nobody had cared about the good things outside oil and gas that the region has in abundance. “It’s like when I am good, nobody hears. But when I’m bad everybody gets to hear. So, we get to hear all the bad things that are more negative to the region as opposed to the rich cultural heritage that is beyond oil.”
He said this is what Seki has been doing over the years. “What Seki has done over the years is to make it very organic, make it very rich. In making the people understand beyond oil and gas that there is a better life within the region.
“And what we are doing is to make sure that we amplify that. And through Seki as a platform, we have shown the dance. Now we are going into say, all over the world, you can understand our culture through our Seki platform or its mobile platform.”
The $4 billion Project
He says Nigeria even beyond the Niger Delta has not been doing enough to dig into the creative industry and reap from its potential. “In 2022, over $1.2 billion was made in the creative economy. Africa made only $58 million from that. Nigeria was not in the top ten of that amount of money because politics, oil and gas is our strength. Imagine Festac ’77. Imagine if we had continued from there up till today, expanding the knowledge economy in the cultural space. Imagine how much we would have gotten from these knowing that the world is now looking into Africa.
“But here in Nigeria, it is a bit of a problem because entertainment, the creative space is a free space. It is not a monetized space; and the very few that are busy doing consistently are making waves. But as a people, we are lacking in that because our dances, masquerades, our way of life is seen as just very ordinary and not seen as something we can grow wealth from. So the monies that are in this space we don’t get it because oil and gas are the things that we worry about.”
Using culture and in particular Seki, Koko hopes to awaken consciousness in this direction. “If I get very passionate, I will say refine Seki. One of the major things about the rich culture of our people beyond whether it is Ijaw, whether it is Ogoni, whether it is Kalabari, whether Itsekiri, Urhobo, whether it is Benin, there is a potpourri of the best of the best in that region.”
He talked about the hidden treasures on the shoreline from Oyorokoto, the biggest fishing settlement in West Africa and the coastline at Ikuru, the longest shoreline on the Atlantic in Nigeria. “You don’t get to hear about it because it is in the Niger Delta region. All of these are in Rivers State. How well are we trying to make sure that people get to know?”
He also spoke about the myths and stories of the Niger Delta. “Mythological narratives can create stories, can create costumes, can give the filmmakers something to do. Our masquerades, our dances are not just juju as they say. Africa is all about mythology. Go and watch Black Panther. The second phase of it is based on African mythology. It is the myth that is helping to promote that aspect of our culture.
“There is the ignorance that has made us not to know that we can tap into it to grow wealth. So, if we can make people understand, that is why Seki is here to express the $4 billion investment. Everyone is coming in. And if they come in, you can’t take benefit because you don’t even have the facilities to making them understand that they can grow wealth. We are doing that.
Koko and his troupe have made trips to major centres in the World with Seki and looking back believes that what Seki portrayed is just a little of what is there in the Niger Delta.
“The irony is that Seki is just a drop of water in the ocean of all that is there. We went to New York. It was when we went to Jamaica, their 60th Independence anniversary and Marcel Griffiths was with us on stage when they saw the colours of Seki costumes, the traditional folksongs of the people of the region. Africa is just Africa whether you are black or whatever. And everyone came backstage wanting to know more about us. When we told them that we are from the Niger Delta, again they tried to see what festivals could attract them into that space. We are looking forward to making things happen into that space.”
How is he getting young people on board the change movement?
“We have already known that with over 10 million youths in our region, if we have the kind of support that we need, you make money from money and constant awareness. You have young people who are creative – story tellers, graphic designers, animators, film makers. How do we get them into a space? It’s by making them understand that through these things that they have, they can grow wealth beyond waiting for government all the time.
“We are trying our best to see that the Seki Culture Mobile Initiative that is there gets support so that we can do our training. So, we are looking at training over 60,000 persons in the first phase, and then begin to have them monetised, make do with all that they have as a talent.”
How can international investors come in?
“It is to lay out the financial plan of everything that has to do with your art forms, showing them how they can grow wealth from it. There are monies all over the place. But how do you access the funds? It is to make sure that they see your documentaries, your backends either from digital footprints or you can grow monies from what you are doing. If they see the documentations, if there is proof to seeing that, then there’s support to it.
“It is not just come and dance. It is not just come and express yourself. We collaborate with the right kind of persons; they know how to express the views in the eyes of your collaborators financially.”
He says art blending well with politics can boost tourism and the economy in the Niger Delta.
“In 2024, December 20 – 5th January, 2025, Rivers State had more people coming into the state than they had for a long time. There were more cultural masquerades, traditional performance in Rivers State in December 2024 more than they had done in the past 12 years.
“Without hospitality, there is no investment. Are you aware that people are looking for youths to do a good show. When you go to someone and say we are having a show, take this, come to be part of it. If you engage them, if you show a pathway, because even the one who is restless, even the one who you claim has gone wayward, they are willing to follow you to do what you want to do deep down inside of them because they want to express themselves through their art forms, and if they can monetize that. But those are nonexistent.
“So, the support of stakeholders in the region, government policies and creative hubs within the place is what Seki is looking for now. And we see that domiciled in our region is over $4 billion worth of cultural monies, creative money that we can access; and then, yes; that’s what we are doing. And we can carry everyone along in doing that.
What does the future look like for Seki Heritage Movement?
“Seki is like a tree with branches. A dance is one part of it. We say, “Don’t Google it. Seki it.” Seki is a platform where if you want to know anything about the Niger Delta region culturally, go to Seki. We have our merchandising. The algorithm states the state, the region is not safe. But we have oil. So, we are trying to see how best with what we are doing having everyone concerned to push that conversation so that you get to see the best of what we do and all the forms in the region that are creative, there is a platform where you go and see the work and the monetize it through the space they have.”
