How CBAAC, Ogidi Studios Mobilised the Creative Industry to Reshape ECD through Positive Storytelling

The Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC) and Ogidi Studios, with support from the World Bank, recently launched the Creative Industries Coalition for Early Childhood Development (ECD) to place Nigerian children at the centre of the country’s cultural imagination and human capital development. Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that at the launch, creative industry leaders, government officials and development partners how storytelling, culture and digital media can strengthen ECD

At a time when conversations about Nigeria’s future increasingly centre on human capital development, stakeholders gathered in Lagos to explore a new frontier: the role of storytelling, culture and entertainment in shaping the nation’s youngest citizens. 

This is because Nigeria’s creative sector is increasingly being recognised as a powerful force beyond entertainment, with the potential to shape social values, influence caregiving practices and support national development goals. 

The event, held recently at Ogidi Studios in Lekki, marked the formal launch of the Creative Industries Coalition for Early Childhood Development (ECD), a strategic initiative designed to place Nigerian children at the centre of national development.

Held in collaboration with partners including the World Bank as the technical supporter of the ECD, the gathering brought together stakeholders from Nigeria’s creative industries, public institutions and development community to examine how cultural production can strengthen early childhood development outcomes.

Participants included Barr. Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy (represented); keynote speaker Fadekemi Olumide Aluko, actress and educationist; media personality Mimi Onalaja; Dr. Ritgak Tilley Gyado, Lead of Early Years Programme at the World Bank Group; Kolawole Fashola, Chief Operations Officer of Ogidi Studios; rapper and producer MI Abaga; Hollywood Nigerian actor Gbenga Akinnagbe; actress and former Rivers State Special Adviser on Youth Affairs, Hilda Dokubo; and award winning music producer and creative director, Cobhams Asuquo.

Storytelling as a Tool for Development

Central to the dialogue was the recognition that storytelling has long shaped values, identity and social behaviour in African societies. Director General of CBAAC, Hon. Aisha Adamu Augie, emphasised that African civilisation understood the importance of early childhood development long before modern education frameworks emerged.

“Our ancestors never separated art from life, or culture from child rearing,” she said. “All across Africa, from the Yoruba Ile Ife, the Igbo Uli traditions, the Hausa griot storytelling circles, the Akan adinkra symbols, the Zulu praise poetry and the Swahili coast lullabies, the first classroom was never a building. It was our mother’s lap, our father’s drum, our grandmother’s folktale, village masquerades, town criers and tales by moonlight.”

Augie noted that early childhood development had always been embedded in African cultural practice even before formal nursery education systems were introduced.

“African civilisation has always known that the first five years decide everything,” she said. “The brain that will one day design empires, compose symphonies, or lead nations is wired between conception and age five exactly as science now confirms.”

Creative Sector and the Need to Shape Healthier Environments for Children

While the cultural foundations exist, speakers acknowledged that Nigeria faces significant challenges in early childhood development. Augie highlighted statistics that underscore the urgency of the issue. “Nigeria carries one of the highest burdens of stunting in the world 40 per cent,” she said. “Only 43.5 per cent of our children reach age appropriate developmental milestones and only 37 per cent attend early childhood programmes.”

“These statistics show we have stolen futures,” she added, noting that Nigeria’s rapidly growing population makes the issue even more pressing.

“As a nation marching toward 375 million people by 2050, we risk turning our greatest asset our youthful population into a liability instead of the demographic dividend Africa has waited for.”

It is against this backdrop that the creative sector is being called upon to contribute to shaping healthier environments for children.

“The same creative genius that gave the world Things Fall Apart, Lion King rhythms, Afrobeats that make the globe dance, and Nollywood that tells our stories louder than any government broadcast is now being summoned not only to entertain, but also to heal, teach and rebuild the Nigerian and African child,” Augie said.

Entertainers as Agents of Change

The newly launched Creative Industries Coalition seeks to mobilise storytellers, filmmakers, musicians and other cultural producers as partners in national development.

Through film, music, animation, comedy and digital storytelling, the initiative aims to promote positive caregiving practices, strengthen early learning environments and reshape social norms around parenting and childhood.

Augie stressed that culture remains one of the most powerful tools for shaping behaviour and social attitudes.

“Culture cannot remain a decoration,” she said. “It is the most powerful behaviour change and social norms transformation instrument ever invented. Music reaches where policy cannot. Animation speaks to the heart where statistics fail. Comedy disarms resistance where lectures bore.”

She added that the coalition would encourage creative professionals to help reframe caregiving as a national responsibility. “We are not asking our entertainers to abandon their craft,” she said. “We are asking you to remember whose shoulders you stand on.”

Harnessing Creative Infrastructure and Animation at Ogidi Studios

The role of creative infrastructure in advancing early childhood development was also highlighted during the event. Head of Legal at Ogidi Studios, Yemisi Falaye, described the facility as a hub designed to support diverse forms of cultural production.

“Ogidi Studios is a world class creative facility that is designed to cater for music, film, animation and content creation,” she said, noting that some audio production for Black Panther was recorded at the Lagos based studio.

Falaye emphasised the influence of animation in shaping children’s perceptions and behaviour. “Usually, animation is the easiest way to reach a child. Children pick from what they see. Children grow with what they see,” she said.

She added that the studio deliberately produces family friendly content aimed at nurturing positive values and supporting the development of well rounded children.

Falaye also noted that early childhood, spanning pregnancy through the first few years of life, lays the foundation for brain development, learning, behaviour and future productivity.

Reimagining the Nigerian Child

Delivering the keynote address titled “The Nigerian Child in Our National Imagination,” actress and educationist Fadekemi Olumide challenged participants to rethink how society perceives children.

“When Nigeria dreams of itself does it see its children? Not as background noise. Not as comic relief. Not as victims of hardship. Does it see its children as central characters in our national imagination?” she asked.

Drawing from her experience running an early years centre, she illustrated how storytelling can shape children’s thinking and social understanding.

She recounted a storytime session with children aged two to five in which discussions unexpectedly touched on issues such as migration and cooperation.

“In thirty minutes, children aged between two and five had explored immigration policy, resource allocation, democratic decision making and collective responsibility all thanks to effective, intentional storytelling. In that moment, I watched international cooperation being negotiated by toddlers without ego, without headlines, without press conferences.”

She stressed that early childhood plays a decisive role in shaping a nation’s future. “Research shows that over 90 per cent of brain development occurs before age five,” she said. “If early childhood development is indeed the foundation of human capital, then storytelling and cultural education cannot remain peripheral.”

Building a Coalition for the Future

Beyond the event itself, organisers say the coalition represents the beginning of a broader effort to strengthen collaboration between the creative sector and development institutions.

The initiative aims to promote positive family practices, mobilise creative partnerships and celebrate the role of culture and creativity in building strong foundations for Nigeria’s next generation.

Participants noted that creative content produced through film, television, music, literature and digital media can influence parenting behaviour, nutrition practices, social expectations and children’s aspirations.

The gathering also highlighted how Nigeria’s rich storytelling heritage can be adapted to modern digital platforms to reach younger audiences.

For the organisers, formalising partnerships between government institutions, creative professionals, researchers and development partners will be critical to expanding early childhood development initiatives across the country.

This was reiterated by Director of Research and Publications at CBAAC, Mr. Adesegun Dosumu, who emphasised that safeguarding Africa’s cultural identity while embracing technological change is crucial, said “Whatever will become tomorrow, starts today”. 

Dosumu described early childhood as a crucial period for character formation and cognitive development, noting that traditional values and skills were once naturally transmitted within families and communities.

He added that these cultural foundations can still be integrated into today’s technology driven world, making investment in children both timely and essential.

With commitments made at the gathering, Augie captured the spirit of the movement in her closing message.

“The ancestors are watching. The children are listening. Africa is calling. Let us rise, create and mobilise. For every child deserves to grow up knowing that their culture believes in them, invests in them and celebrates them from the very first day of life.”