Humanities in Nation Building: The Entrepreneurial Role of Fine and Applied Arts in Nation Building

Of the countless, faceless and numberless artists and artisans at various street corners in Nigerian cities and rural areas are the various creative people have made impact as unsung heroes/ heroines. Their creative dexterity and acumen add to national development by creating employment and their apprentices while enhancing the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). The embellishment of the environment with beautiful paintings, sculptures, billboards and other pleasing designs are attributed to Fine and Applied Arts. For the purpose of discussion, the terms Fine Arts, Arts, and Visual Arts are used interchangeably to mean the same thing, referring to skillful works created for aesthetic and utilitarian purposes. The place of Fine and Applied Arts in nation building and the invaluable role it plays in  nation building cannot be overemphasised. This is because, a good understanding of the place and role, helps to institutionalise the visual arts in the various entrepreneurial programmes of culture and development which are huge local and foreign exchange earners for the nation, and conversely, building the economic potentials of the nation. This paper articulates issues on the visual arts in nation building and how these can be aptly harnessed for job creationt among the teeming populace and nip in the bud youth restiveness, conflict situations and other societal vices. The paper concludes on the premise of eulogising the visual arts in nation building and the need to institutionalise same for the financial progress of individuals and the nation.