NIGERIA’s entertainment industry is set to receive tremendous boost with the recent appointment of Hannatu Musawa as the Special Adviser on Culture and Entertainment Economy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Musawa, who is a daughter of the late Katsina famous politician, Musa Musawa, is a lawyer, politician and author.
She studied Law at the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom; and has Master’s degrees in the Legal Aspects of Marine Affairs from the University of Cardiff, Wales; and Oil and Gas Law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
She is also a qualified solicitor in England and Wales, UK; and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
She has worked as a Litigation lawyer and legal advisor to a number of private Companies. As junior lawyer, she was attached and worked with the law firm of Late Chief Clement Akpamgbo (former Attorney General of the federation) and she also worked briefly with Barrister Bala Na Allah during the Oputa Panel; Human Rights Violation Commission. She consequently went ahead to form the firm of Hanney Musawa & Associates, where she is presently the Principal Partner.
From 2003, she has been an active political activist. She fully participated in the political activities of the opposition during the 2003 and 2007 Nigerian elections. She was also one of the lawyers on the prosecutions leading team in the 2003 Presidential Election Petition between General Muhammadu Buhari and General Olusegun Obasanjo. In the aftermath of the decision of that election petition, she continued to express and voice her views through the medium of print media by maintaining a weekly newspaper column in LEADERSHIP newspaper.
It is a forum she uses to speak out, without fear or favor, on behalf of Nigerians who have no voice and on issues that border on the premise of peace and justice. She has been a human rights and women’s rights activist for decades.
In 2011, Hannatu Musawa contested for the Federal House of Representatives legislative seat in her home state of Katsina.
Aside from her professional achievements, Musawa is also known for her social nature and family values. She enjoys going out in style and often shares her outings on social media. A family-oriented woman, she usually celebrates the achievements of her loved ones at every opportunity she gets. Last Sunday, she wished her late father a ‘Happy Father’s Day’ on social media.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the entertainment industry have high expectations from Musawa, as regards improving the country’s entertainment scene.
On Friday, the President of the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria, Bolaji Amusan, aka Mr Latin, commended President Bola Tinubu for Musawa’s appointment. He said, “I commend President Tinubu for this. It is a new beginning for the industry and a sign that the present administration is ready to work in the industry. Entertainment was not given priority attention before now. We hope the office will function well, and meet the expectations of practitioners, who have always been the sole drivers of the industry.”
