by Lami Kedono Atah

Though thought provoking, there is no doubt that Nigerians are really creative. I also believe it is possible to get to the level of creativity of a young person at whatever age. But there is a condition: if we allow ourselves.

Adam Cudworth is a name I just became interested in. I watched a CNN report on his D-I-Y Space Project which captured beautiful, captivating images of Earth and beyond. All he did was send out a hot air balloon with a 30 GBP second-hand camera purchased on Ebay. He does not work with NASA, he is just a curious teen that decided to find out “What If?” He reminds me of many of us who try to understand by experimenting.  I think he is creative.

Recently, a friend updated his BBM status with the sentence: “Creative is not a Word” I guess he was tired of people saying; “That is Creative!”  The “Creative Economy” has become a buzzword of some sort lately. It may be due to the recent United Nations focus on that sector, although many of our parents just believe we have gotten lazy.

Though thought provoking, there is no doubt that Nigerians are really creative. I also believe it is possible to get to the level of creativity of a young person at whatever age. But there is a condition: if we allow ourselves.

Will we allow ourselves?  The cliché description of creativity is a young man or woman, free-spirited, without discipline or structure. But if it is truly so, how would Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood have functioned all these years? In allowing ourselves to be creative we need to understand some things:

1. There is always a better way of doing everything. Resolve to find it.

2. Anyone can be creative.

3. Contrary to what some may believe, creativity requires work; constant learning, evaluating, reworking, criticism, precision. Have you ever gone backstage during a Fashion Show?

4. Creativity requires focus. It is very difficult to be effective when you are spread too thin.

5. Creativity requires support.  Do not ignore issues such as funding, mentoring, etc

6. Creativity requires a system. We celebrate the late Steve Jobs today because there is Apple Inc.

7. Creativity is required in every profession.

Why are these things important? Because making Lagos a Creative City begins with every one of us. Every one of us probably has a generator to battle the poor power supply, but while we are spending money maintaining them, young people in India are working on alternative energy.

We may expect that making Lagos a creative city will only begin when our Governor decides to launch a creative economy scheme. That will be fabulous, but beyond that is the need for everyone to decide that no matter what we do, we will find a better way to do it. If you are a teacher, teach your students to think through solutions; critical thinking that will enable them establish a link between what they learn and how to live a well-enabled life. The world climate has changed; how can our civil engineers and architects help us build better housing? Why didn’t Dr. Dre just stick with producing?

Enjoying and celebrating Lagos’ creativity requires that parents help stir curiosity and passion in their children. It needs our researchers searching out ways that the state can benefit from the creative efforts of its people. It also requires us taking our hobbies, enjoying them and doing them better. It requires being child-like, asking questions and wondering “What If?”

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Lami Kedono Atah is a social media consultant and runs the blog called marketwomanlagos.com

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.