Chocolate City CEO Abuchi Peter Ugwu has warned that Lagos may lose the economic momentum of its fast-growing creative industry if the state fails to fix long-standing infrastructure gaps affecting concerts, film production, cultural technology, and youth-driven entertainment businesses.
Ugwu made the remarks in Alausa, Ikeja, during the Economic Roundtable Discussion hosted by the Economic Intelligence Department of the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget.
The event brought together policymakers, industry leaders and analysts to examine Lagos’ evolving economic landscape and the structural challenges slowing sectoral growth.
According to Ugwu, the creative sector has become one of Nigeria’s most dynamic economic engines, driven largely by the country’s young population and global attention on Afrobeats, Nollywood, and digital content.
What he said
“I think Lagos has been a home to a lot of actresses, the creative sector. But when you look at it deep down, there’s a lot of infrastructure gap.
So, for example, there’s not even one big venue in Lagos that can do a concert. So I’m happy we’re talking about the transport leg, we’re talking about, I feel like, the whole ecosystem. So you hear every big actor now claiming, Oh, I sold Wembley in the UK, which is 20,000 capacity.”
Ugwu argued that Lagos’ transport and event-support infrastructure is not keeping pace with the scale of demand. Moving large crowds for events remains difficult due to inadequate parking, traffic congestion and limited mass transit options. These issues, he warned, reduce the commercial viability of entertainment projects and limit Lagos’ ability to compete with cities that offer smoother logistics. With thousands of young Nigerians pouring into Lagos each year, he said the gap between demand and infrastructure is widening.
What Lagos film permit process is like
He also criticised the state’s complex and unpredictable film-permit process. Unlike Cape Town, where creators obtain approvals through a streamlined digital system filmmakers in Lagos often shuttle between multiple agencies without success.
‘’So it’s like, how do we build that system, number one. Secondly, if you go to places like Cape Town, if I want to shoot, like most of the big commercials you see, all the bands in Nigeria go to Cape Town. They go everywhere.
“And that’s a lot of resources that we send out. But the problem, again, is that if I want to get permission to shoot in a village, I’ll go to like 10 agencies. And if I go to 10 agencies, I still might not have a permit.’’
Beyond concerts and film, Ugwu pointed to the rise of cultural-tech platforms like Chowdeck as evidence that Lagos is undergoing a youth-led commercial transformation that government policy has yet to fully recognize.
He referenced a Chowdeck report showing multibillion-naira annual revenue for a local Shomolu food business, arguing that such cases demonstrate how technology and culture are merging to create new value chains. “These are things government doesn’t always understand,” he said. “But they are reshaping the economy.”
Ugwu stressed that the creative sector is not seeking financial handouts but the foundational infrastructure to operate effectively. He called for a unified system for permitting, purpose-built venues, and urban planning that recognizes the scale of Lagos’ youth population and the industries they support
What you should know
Nairametrics previously reported that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, had estimated that Nigeria’s creative industry holds the potential to generate $25 billion. Also, Lagos has emerged as the fastest-growing tech ecosystem in the world for 2025, according to a new report by Netherlands-based research firm Dealroom.co.
Already, Governor Jide Sanwoolu has noted that Lagos continues to lead in galvanizing growth across fashion, film, music, and the arts. He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening the ecosystem for the creative sector through access to finance, infrastructure, and supportive policies.
