EXCLUSIVE: Disquiet In Arts And Culture Ministry Over Hannatu Musawa’s ‘Illegal’ Recommendation Of Agency Heads For Appointment

…Ministry Headed By ‘Buccaneers’ — Director

Allegations of impropriety have emerged within the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy following President Bola Tinubu’s recent appointment of agency heads on the recommendation of the minister, Hannatu Musawa.

THE WHISTLER has learnt from high-ranking ministry officials, including directors, that two of the eleven appointments made by President Tinubu violated the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) Act, 2004. The Act established the NCMM as the sole entity responsible for managing all 53 National Museums and Monuments in Nigeria, including the National War Museum and the National Institute of Archaeology and Museums Studies.

The concerns also border on alleged questionable qualifications, secrecy, cronyism, and disregard for the law.

Tinubu had appointed heads for the following: National Theatre, National Films and Censors Board, National Council for Arts and Culture, Centre for Black and African Arts and Culture, National War Museum, National Gallery of Art, National Institute of Archaeology and Museums Studies, National Troupe of Nigeria, National Institute for Cultural Orientation, Nigerian Film Corporation, and National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

However, sources within the ministry told THE WHISTLER that the Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, allegedly misguided the president into appointing a Chief Conservator for the National War Museum and Director-General of the National Institute of Archaeology and Museums Studies.

The ministry officials argue that both institutions fall under the NCMM’s purview, managed by a Director-General. They threatened to move against the minister if nothing was done about the appointments.

Establishing the National War Museum and National Institute of Archaeology and Museums Studies as separate entities with independent CEOs, they claim, requires formal legislative laws and not improvised measures that undermine the NCMM’s authority and set a dangerous precedent for bypassing established legal frameworks.

Apart from alleged violation of the NCMM Act, the civil servants alleged that only a handful of the eleven appointees possess relevant experience for their assigned roles, warning that appointing individuals lacking the necessary knowledge and background of cultural institutions could hinder the agencies’ effectiveness and contradict President Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” of efficient governance and economic growth, including in the creative sector.

They believe that there are competent persons within agencies of the ministry that could have been appointed to head those agencies.

Ministry Of ‘Buccaneers’

One top official described an exclusive culture within the ministry and hinted at deeper issues within its structure and management, which the official said bordered on the lack of inclusivity in decision-making processes. According to the official, meetings are exclusive and cater only to a privileged group within the ministry.

“They don’t involve anybody in their meetings. The ministry is just there for buccaneers. They just go there to enjoy themselves,” the official said, adding that instead of contributing to the development of the arts and culture sector, the ministry’s leadership are only there for personal gains.

The source said individuals are appointed without due consideration of the legal framework that established the agency. The consequence, he claimed, is an abundance of Director-General positions without proper justification.

“The problem in the ministry is not just about the recent appointment, there are other problems, even in the basic nomenclature of positions. Appointing people without looking at the law establishing the agency, such that everybody is a Director-General,” the official said.

He further expressed frustration with the ministry’s complex issues but declined to elaborate further: “I don’t really want to go into the complexities of the ministry of culture.”