If we concentrate only on music and movies, the creative industry in Ghana is doomed - Oswald Okaitei
POET and spoken word artist Oswald Okaitei is forecasting disaster for Ghana's arts sector in the event that pertinent parties fail to take the necessary steps to expand it.
Boakyewaa Lawrencia 
Even though there are many other sectors of the creative industry, Oswald pointed out that music and film have dominated the field, pushing the other sectors—fine arts in particular—to the side.
The University of Cape Coast alumnus stated in an interview with Graphic Showbiz on Monday, October 23, that his remarks were a summary of his years of industry observation. He said that the state of affairs was deterring players from other creative industries from exerting more effort.
Oswald, the creator of Read Ghana Read Consult and the organizer of the Street Reading Carnival, revealed that Ghana runs the risk of losing its next generation of writers since the country's innovative and literary writers are not given enough credit.
"I believe that a thorough plan should be in place to advance Ghana's artistic sector. The reality is that the industry is much larger than just actors or musicians. Poets, spoken word performers, comedians, artists, writers, playwrights, fashion designers, and more are all involved.
However, given that other units receive little to no attention, it seems that the industry we refer to as the arts industry is a fraud. The film and music industries are mostly concerned with pushing aside and letting the others struggle.
"Do you realize that in the coming years, Ghana would not be able to claim writers and authors who are well-known throughout the world? We might be limited to exalting our past literary luminaries, such Ama Ata Aidoo, Professor Lade Wosornu, and Atukwei Okai, without regard for the dawn of a new era of brilliant minds.
Indeed, there are budding literary writers, but what concerted efforts are we making to guarantee that they follow in the footsteps of their forebears? That is our impending doom as the arts sector lacks the mechanisms necessary to make it happen, and it is extremely concerning," he remarked.
Oswald stated that other creative industries, such as the literary world, are fighting for survival while the film and music industries continue to receive backing from corporate and governmental entities.
Is it not ironic that foreign countries are eager to invest in our literary works? Apart from the media advocating for reading, what systematic efforts is the government making to promote reading? Does the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture have a desk dedicated to literary art? Oswald inquired.
