Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe, has described the proprietor of Nike Art Gallery, Mrs. Oyenike Monica Okundaye, as a woman of substance with an overriding motivation to revolutionise and empower young men and women with creative skills not only in the arts and crafts but also in traditional adire making that will make them self-employed and employers of labour in the nearest future.
Runsewe stated this during his visit to Nike Art Gallery on Airport Road in Abuja.
The NCAC boss in conjunction with the major stakeholders in the culture and tourism industry gathered at Nike Art Gallery to celebrate the commitment, hard work, creative, ingenuity and sheer resilience of an outstanding personality in the art and culture sector, Mrs. Nike Okundaye.
Runsewe added that Nike Art Gallery with centres in Osogbo, Lagos, Kogi and now in Abuja, is providing employment for thousands of unemployed Nigerians.
He noted that the numerous activities of Mama Nike in the art galleries are impacting the Nigerian economy by contributing to our Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and stimulating overall economic growth.
Runsewe pointed out that Mama Nike Art Galleries have become veritable platforms for research and academic scholarship, noting that the Nike Art Gallery in Osogbo now admits undergraduate students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria, Canada and USA for industrial training programme in textile design, traditional arts and culture, Yoruba adire fabric processing and African dyeing method.
In her reaction, Okundaye popularly known as Mama Nike, expressed her appreciation for all the efforts and contributions that the Director General of National Council for Arts and Culture, Runsewe, has put into making the Abuja branch of Nike Arts Gallery a reality.
She added that Runsewe has contributed so much in the cultural industry and has been so supportive from the conception stage of her art gallery to the stage it is now.
She also expressed her deepest appreciation to Runsewe and the management and staff of National Council for Arts and Culture for their support all through the years.
Answering questions from the journalists, Runsewe enjoined them to tell the world that there is an ultra-modern gallery in Abuja that is comparable to the ones outside the country.
He enjoined every Nigerian to consider Nike Art Gallery as a destination marketing strategy in cultural tourism.
