The African Youths Arts, Culture Heritage and Entertainment (AYACHE), a cultural initiative under the umbrella of Aiye-ko-ooto, today held a session of its foundational Creative Writing Workshop Masterclass Series at the historic Freedom Park, Lagos Island.
The intensive five-day program brought together students from secondary and tertiary institutions across Lagos State, aiming to equip the next generation of storytellers with the essential skills needed to drive Nigeria’s ambitious creative economy.
The workshop was a direct response to the Federal Government’s vision, specifically articulated within the Renewed Hope Agenda, which recognizes youth as the engine room of national progress. The President of Aiye-ko-ooto, Cash Onadele, addressed newsmen during the training session, shedding light on the powerful inspiration behind the initiative.
“This was actually inspired by the President when he talked about the Renewed Hope Agenda,” Mr. Onadele stated. “Definitely, when he talks about the Renewed Hope Agenda, he is talking about the youths because the youths are the engine room of our future. What makes it concrete is when they release a statement that the creative economy is going to inject a trillion dollars into the economy. Which means it will top oil and gas. But how can we get there? I was thinking.”
Mr. Onadele emphasized the critical gap the workshop seeks to fill. While sectors like Nollywood already contribute significantly—bringing in 3.2% of the GDP which runs into million, according to previous reports—reaching the trillion-dollar mark requires a fundamental re-evaluation of the entire media ecosystem.
“The bedrock of the creative economy itself is creative writing,” he asserted. “When I typed into Google ‘creative writing courses in Nigeria,’ I found none. When I typed in ‘youth empowerment in Nigeria,’ I found 120, but none of them was even dealing with creative art.”
A retired architect with a deep-seated passion for writing, Mr. Onadele channeled his pension income and expertise into creating a solution. He believes that foundational exposure to creative writing is the necessary first step. “I think if I can create foundational courses and expose people within the age of 15 to 35 to creative writing, and if other people can replicate, we will have thousands of youths who sell their stories and such stories can be paid for in Nollywood,” he explained.
The urgency of this training is underscored by the complaints from international streaming giants. “Why is it that Netflix and other streaming companies have left Nigeria? It’s because they complain about our stories. So, we need these youths to be the anchor of our heritage. We must teach them to creatively write the stories of their ancestors,” Mr. Onadele noted.
The AYACHE cultural literary hub, the vehicle for this endeavor, was created to provide a space for youths to network and learn. The current foundational class was meticulously selected, targeting SS III students and those from tertiary institutions like the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State University (LASU), and Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH). These institutions cooperated with the organisers, acknowledging the lack of dedicated courses in this area on their campuses.
The organising team included valuable resource persons from the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE) and the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), who helped coordinate the initial cohort.
Despite operating on limited finances, Mr. Onadele extended gratitude to the corporate partners who stepped forward: FCMB and CINQTEOUS, whose resources were crucial in bringing the project to fruition.
Looking ahead, the foundational five-day course is only the beginning. Mr. Onadele revealed a grander vision: “I have highlighted 21 courses that can take someone from nobody to Wole Soyinka. I am going to be building those courses, and see if it’s going to be possible once every two months, and if the finances are there, we can actually be doing this every month.”
The call to action is clear and resonates with the national agenda: “The President talked about Renewed Hope, let the President be our patron and the First Lady be the mother of these youths. We must find ways of creating grants that will make these youths succeed in this endeavour; let’s have an institute for the sake of creative writing.”
The AYACHE Creative Writing Workshop Masterclass Series is poised to be a consistent incubator for the narrative talent that will not only meet international standards but also tell the authentic, heritage-rich stories required to anchor and propel Nigeria’s creative sector to its trillion-dollar potential.
