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Tag: CALABAR

  • Day Calabar exploded in rainbow colours

    Day Calabar exploded in rainbow colours

    UNTIL I arrived Calabar on Monday, December 23, 2013, all the stories of enchantment and magic I had heard about Nigeria’s first capital city and her ample pleasures could be reduced to pictures of waif-like carnival queens with the silver wings of fairies.

    But the picture soon began to change when Calabar’s long tree-lined streets opened up to receive me with the bewitching twinkle of assorted Christmas lights. As the car heaved up the long, straight road to the State Housing, I blinked at the forceful dazzle of Calabar’s street lights when I remembered that my neighbourhood in Lagos had been plunged into darkness by a severe power cut for a week. I drew a long breath as I pondered Calabar’s night beauty, wondering if daylight would reveal her more familiar face.

    I woke up to the chirping of birds from the luxuriant branch of a tree by my hotel window and became instantly aware of where I was. Jogging on the beautifully paved streets of State Housing, what struck me was the greenness of the surrounding as the sun poked its shy rays through the leafy canopy overhead. I was impressed by the cleanness of the neighbourhood and the cloying ambience of its vegetative streets. I loved the seemingly pristine orderliness, which accentuated Calabar’s otherness.

    On Christmas Eve, the Millennium Park burst wild in a spangle of colours. Amid the twittering chimes of assorted Christmas lights, a rainbow of voices sprouted with life on a huge stage to serenade the city and its many wonder-struck seasonal visitors with songs. It would seem that the carol night is probably the most subdued component of Calabar’s famed Christmas Carnival; but even so, it has its own intricate allure. And I knew that my Christmas would be wonderful when the night exploded with songs at the Millennium Park as different choirs competed with one another for the best performance. I was awe-struck by the depth of talent on display from the Cross River State choir. The choir’s lead singer had a voice that would make the angels blink in bewilderment. But the real amazement was the performance of Governor Liyel Imoke and Obioma, his wife. The couple was among the Government House choir, which turned up delicately spruced up for the night. The singing contest was between the House of Assembly, the local governments and the Government House. I chuckled when I saw my friend, Christian Ita, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, looking dapper in a tuxedo and grinning with a mischievous glint in his eyes. In all the years I had known him, I had never heard a hum from Chris. But Calabar’s many unspoken pleasures had softened him up and turned him into a singer.

    It was pleasant to see Obioma Imoke singing lead, while her husband’s booming voice floated atop a wave of voices into the night. The choir sounded as though it had gone through moments of intense rehearsal and I wondered how Governor Imoke could have been a part of it with the tightness of his schedule. Interestingly, whatever sacrifices they made seemed to have paid off as their performance on the night was inch-perfect. I rose from the carol night, wondering just how different Calabar was from the rest of Nigeria, how beautiful the choirs sang, how picturesque the stage looked and how these little things meant so much more than words could ever say. But I also rose from the performance with a heightened anticipation of the carnival; the crown jewel of the Calabar Christmas Festival.

    After a relatively quiet Christmas, I spent the Boxing Day at the scenic Marina Resort; a breath-taking hideaway that nestles at the mouth of the Calabar River. The resort is a canopy of colours. From the zig-zagging road that slopes all the way down to the river from the Eastern Naval Command and the ethereal beauties of the little Tortuga Island, where I savoured the peppery taste of barbecued fish to the magnificent view of the glimmering Calabar River, I felt myself entranced in a beauty beyond the lame aspirations of polluted beaches of Lagos. And as I walked down the dimly lighted labyrinths of the Slave Museum, I felt history tug on the shirt sleeves of my mind. I chuckled when the curator, whose name I can no longer recall, told the story of the famed slave dealer, King Eyo Honesty, the 18th Century monarch of Creek Town, whom he said earned the name “Honesty” from his fair trade practices with the European slave masters. His voice hovered over us in the cavernous rooms of the museum like the vengeful spirit of one of the enslaved ancestors seeking supplication. The tour was as enlightening as it was saddening.

    Stepping out of the Museum into the warm December sun once again, I stood by the railing and gazed into the vast expanse of the Calabar River, which empties itself into the sea and wondered how many cruelties the waters of the River had witnessed without as much as a blink. I left when my eyes stung from gazing too hard and ambled my way back to an open field, where children romped about in play, oblivious of the hideous stories that lay within the walls of the nearby museum. Although there was a cinema house close by, I had lost all interest as my mind kept dredging up images of the manacles and chains I saw in the museum. At night, I heard the guttural voice of King Eyo Honesty welcoming me to his kingdom by the sea. He stretched out a bronze staff to touch me as he spoke and I screamed in absolute horror and woke up to realise that it was a dream and that it was the day I had waited for: the Carnival Day.

    Leaving my hotel room at a quarter past nine, I headed for the take-off point of the carnival train. I had been advised that the best thing to do was to get a spot very close to the take-off point and watch the street party fresh and then return to my hotel for a little rest before re-joining the party in the stadium at sunset. But no one warned me of the impending joy that came with witnessing Africa’s largest street party live. I took a spot opposite De Choice, a popular quick service restaurant, and waited with my phones fully charged to take photographs of the impending spectacle. I didn’t have long to wait as the procession began a little after mid-day. Right before my eyes, I saw the streets of Calabar explode into a rainbow of colours. Young, nubile and picture-perfect ladies twinkled like sapphire in assorted costumes, flashing smiles that glowed like full moon. Old and graceful ladies glimmered in gears that made light of the passage of time. Athletic young dancers flexed their muscles and gave hints of complicated dance routines that would later flower into intricate chorography in the late night at the stadium. And the most pleasant thing of it all, the carnival trains all danced to the throbbing rhythms of soar away Nigerian music. A set of fleet-footed dancers performed an astonishing sequence to the tune of Kaycee’s hit song, Pull Over, and the spectators roared in applause. Above us, a military helicopter hovered, keeping an eye on the procession and providing rapid response in case of trouble.

    I waited for my moment; the arrival of these other-worldly creatures that seemed perfect in all physical configuration and broke through the security cordon for a photo shoot. I encircled one of the finest of the lot and handed my phone to someone to take a photograph of me and my carnival queen. My queen smiled away as the camera flash exploded in a brilliant dazzle to trap time. I took in the moment, knowing there would never be a repeat. I smiled as my arm encircled her waist and I thought to myself, does this one even know or care whether we share the same bloodline?

    The wild ecstasy on the streets was nothing to compare to the frenzy in the U. J Esuene Stadium later in the night. The 25,000- capacity stadium was packed beyond capacity as the city of Calabar and environs emptied itself into the lush-green pitch of the stadium. It was the grand finale of Africa’s largest street party and no one wanted to be told the story of what happened. It was at this stage that the theme of the carnival “Ain’t no Stopping Us” would be interpreted in a dance after being conceptualized in the costumes and floats witnessed earlier on the streets. I felt a surge of pride when the former governor of the state, Donald Duke and his beautiful Onari floated into the stadium on a two-wheel scooter that looked very much like the ones used by visitors to the Whitehouse in Washington DC.

    The stadium throbbed with rapture as debonair Duke and delectable Onari floated like fairies around the stadium. The carnival trains soon moved in with fanfare. A major highpoint was the grand entry of ageless Florence Ita Giwa and her Seagul Band.

    The Nollywood crew of John Okafor, Nkem Owoh, Funke Akindele, Tonto Dikeh and model Uti Nwachukwu drew a loud applause with their theatrical display. All the carnival bands, including Passion 4, Masta Blasta Band, Seagull Band, Freedom Band and Bayside Band, gave a good account of themselves, interpreting the theme of the carnival.

    The night, however, belonged to the Masta Blasta Band whose electrifying performance stripped the audience of all power of speech.

    The frightening thing about Carnival Calabar is its growing acceptance beyond Nigeria and even outside Africa. Apart from Brazil, Rwanda, Ghana, Egypt and Trinidad and Tobago are all reported to have joined the fun. The list is expected to grow in the coming years as media attention grows on the carnival.

    The astonishing thing, however, is that Calabar and its many revolutionary offerings is the only proof in Nigeria that government can run a project to a high level of excellence.

    In the words of Governor Liyel Imoke, the chief host of the carnival, “After Nollywood, Carnival Calabar is the highest brand in Africa and it is unique because unlike others, it is designed, programmed and costumed through passion and creativity.” Calabar is probably the only idea that any government in Nigeria has driven with unflagging passion for close to a decade.

    It is, indeed, fascinating how through raw passion and unrivalled focus, the government of Cross River State has turned Calabar into one of the few bright spots in Nigeria’s story of gloom. With a vast arable land that supports year-round green vegetation, a naturally warm and peace-loving people and an assortment of natural wonder-places and places of historical significance, Cross River seems carved out for distinction. Even so, it took a deep self-knowledge and a near revolutionary vision for Cross River to stand out among its peers in Nigeria, if not Africa. I am told that work has commenced on the second phase of Tinapa, which will see the erection of one of Africa’s largest conference facilities.

    Evidently, the minders of the idea of Calabar have not stopped dreaming, while their contemporaries in most states of the federation are struggling to offer basic amenities to their people.

    American poet, Edgar Allan Poe, once observed that “those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” It would seem that the government and people of Cross River State have mastered the art of dreaming by day, while their counterparts in other states of the federation are still busy dreaming at night.

  • Visiting Calabar’s Suya plaza

    Visiting Calabar’s Suya plaza

    SUYA is a Hausa steak delicacy. It is common in the North than any other part of the country. However, for lovers of the delicacy, the experience may not be complete without visiting the Suya plaza, located in the heart of Calabar metropolis. The place has become a popular hang-out for local and visiting tourists in the city.

    Many have made the annual trips to Calabar during Yuletide to be part of the fun and festivities of the December festival in Cross River State. Many have also had first hand pleasant experiences of the now popular Calabar carnival. But these days, one area of the town that has become popular with tourists is Slaughter Street. It is probably the only street in the country that is officially dedicated to serve the interest of lovers of the local delicacy. The area is also known as Bogobiri, a settlement for people of Northern extraction in the heart of the city. For those who don’t know, Suya is a thinly-sliced meat pierced with a stick and spiced with pepper and powdered groundnut.

    It is no doubt that Calabar city has carved a niche for itself as Nigeria’s foremost tourist destination for locals and in-bound tourists desirous of relaxation and fun during the Yuletide.

    Another area that the reputation of the city precedes it is in the area of culinary expertise. For food connoisseurs and those who want to indulge in culinary adventure, the place to be is Calabar. The variety of fresh vegetable meal, seafood and many more are best experienced than talked about.

    Before now, Calabar has never been noted as home for Suya. But all that has changed, as Calabar is gradually assuming the status of the best Suya zone in Nigeria.

    The plaza is a stretch of building with about 30 shops. While approaching the area, you are first confronted with the smoke from the makeshift barbecue containers drifting towards the sky. You are amazed at the number of exotic cars parked along the streets. And as you try to make meaning of this, you see both the young and old sauntering out of their vehicles and heading towards the row of Suya sellers along the road.

    The shops have inner and outer parts. In the inner part, heaps of pieces of meat are placed on slabs. The meat is sliced thin-sized with dexterity to get the normal. There are other workers that put the sliced meat on stick and then lace them with the powdered pepper and groundnut after which the meat is then placed on barbecue fire. It should also be noted that the Suya is prepared in a clean and hygienic environment. The sellers have access to clean water, and the area, just like Calabar, is generally clean and tidy. That must have influenced the caliber of customers that come to patronize the sellers.

    How did the story of this area that has become synonymous with tourists and Suya begin? According to a source from the Cross River State government, the Hausa Suya sellers, prior to their relocation to Slaughter Street, operated from the Mary Slessor roundabout. He said: “The place, as a result of that, was a bit rowdy and unorganized. The level of hygiene was also not encouraging. The government decided that it was best to relocate them form the place to a conducive and hygienic area. That was why the government built the place and provided the sellers with every facility that would assist them to provide Suya delicacy to their teeming patrons. Slaughter Street was chosen because, first, its proximity to where they were before and close to the Bogobiri area where most of the Suya sellers stay. Thankfully, it has turned out to be a win-win situation for everybody. The area has become very popular with people.” Interestingly, one of the conspicous banners at the complex reads ‘University of Suya’. This is the shop of one of the sellers by name who goes by the name, Hassan Taku. He described Suya as ‘Imoke Suya’, which according to his poster, is the best.

    According to Hassan, who is an iindigene of Zamfara State, he relocated to Calabar about 12 years ago.

    He said: “The government relocated us to this place about four years ago, and it has been nice ever since. It has become the number one spot for those who want to buy Suya.”

    Asked why they have lots of patronage from people resident in Calabar, he said: “Well, here in Calabar, there is no place like here. We prepare all kinds of Suya using ram, goat or beef. We also have smoked chicken meat. I think one reason people come to this place is the quality of the meat. They are good and of high quality. I am sure people appreciate what we do here, and that is why they keep on coming.”

    Speaking on the patronage, he said , “ We are getting a lot of patronage from people during the Yuletide, especially before, during and after the carnival. However, after the festivities, there is a bit of lull in sales, but it quickly picks up now that the students of the university have returned to school.” Asked whether there was other places like the Slaughter Street in Calabar, he said no, only that some isolated sellers do attach themselves to drinking joints or sell by the roadside.

    He praised the Calabar environment, saying it was the conducive nature of the place that has made it possible for them to settle down and do business. He said: “Like I told you, I am from Zamfara State, and I am here with my family. The state as a whole is very peaceful and conducive to live in. That is why there are so many of us here.”

    During the Calabar Festival, it was normal to see different groups of people sitting and savouring the delicacy with cold drink around the plaza.

    A man who gave his name as Benson Ariyo, who was having a good a time with a group of friends, spoke to this reporter. He said: “This is a good place to have a nice time. I eat Suya, but I select the area where I buy them. But this is the most organised Suya spot that I have come across. The quality is high. I think this is another thing other states and cities should learn from Calabar. Even if you don’t like eating suya, the setting of the place will make you want to taste it. The hygiene is also another thing that makes the place attractive to people. You can see people from all strata of the society trooping here to come and buy Suya. I am sure if the hygiene level is not high, many would not patronize them. I just suggest that the government should continue to monitor their activities to make sure that the hygiene is maintained.

    So, for those visiting Calabar, it is just proper to tell them that their experience in this foremost destination in Nigeria may not be complete without tasting the Calabar Suya at Slaughter Street.

  • Carnival Calabar raises the bar

    Carnival Calabar raises the bar

    IT is abnormal for one to come down from one’s hotel room in a three-star hotel to the restaurant for a four thousand naira breakfast only to meet a long queue. More so when the hotel is about two kilometres from the city. That was what one had to cope with at the Lakeside Hotel Tinapa on the morning of December 27, last year.

    The crowd at the restaurant came from every part of the country for the Carnival Calabar that holds every December 27. It has become so popular as a leisure and relaxation spectacle during the yuletide that many affluent Nigerians who hitherto would go on Christmas vacation outside the country now prefer to come down to Calabar. And many people this reporter talked to are not first-time visitors.

    When tourism experts talk about the long gestation period for investors to reap the benefits of investment in tourism, this is what is unfolding in Calabar. The investment in building Carnival Calabar as a brand is gradually paying off with the influx of visitors.

    Having seen most of the top festivals in Nigeria, including the Osun Osogbo, Argungu Fishing Festival, Durtbar, Nwonyo, Abuja Carival and so on, the biggest problem of most of them is that after attending just one edition, boredom sets in because one could easily write about what would have taken place without attending the event again and one would not be wrong. That is what differentiates the Carnival Calabar brand and the others. It is absolutely impossible to predict the texture and complexion of each edition. The depth of creativity is so high. This year’s edition was not only a success, it tried to raise the performance bar.

    There are five official bands at the carnival, the Masta Blasta, Passion Four, Freedom Band, Seagull and Bayside. One could always predict that the Seagull Band led by Senator Florence Ita-Giwa would come out with bright coloured costume with provocatively attired beautiful ladies and course backed by a constellation of Nollywood stars that made the crowd go wild.

    However, the essence of Carnival Calabar that has made and sustained the brand is the depth of creativity both in interpretation of given theme and costuming.

    This year’s theme was “Ain’t No Stopping Us’ focusing on the ability of man and the human spirit to triumph over challenges. In this year’s carnival, the competition was fierce. It was very obvious that a high level of efforts and the bars have been raised further.

    The 16-kilometre journey was flagged off at the Millennium Park by the Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke. The music was pulsating. And twist and wriggling of heaps by young girls and boys then began.

    After close to 10 hours on the road, the bands arrived at the J.T. Esuene Stadium looking tired, but never gave up until after one last performance for the crowd at the stadium. Talking about the crowd of tourists and locals, after watching them perform for more than eight hours on the street, they still followed them down to the stadium for the last performance.

    It is this excitement and desire to enjoy life that make both local and international tourists troop from all over the world to watch the carnival.

    This year, Passion Four’s grasp of the story line was quite lucid and easy to follow. So also was their usage of past and present historical personalities to pass across their message. Their costuming was neither as flashy as the Seagull and their performing did not have the tightness of Masta Blasta’s choreography and, of course, the wow effect that they conjured using the Houdini style effect.

    It was no surprising that the Masta Blasta Band retained the crown they won last year.

    Speaking on the carnival performance this year,

    a satisfied Governor Liyel Imoke in his military camouflage costume described the carnival as a huge success and promised that the state would continue to put facilities in place to expand its tourist influx. He said what the carnival tries to do was “to produce an excellent product .”

    Answering questions on what the state had been able to do to attract both local and in-bound tourists, Imoke said: “Our emphasis should be not just on the local market, but on the sub- regional market in terms of attendance. When I say domestic, I am looking at the domestic expatriate community, as well as our own people who want to have a good time. They all come to Calabar for that.”

    He emphasized the fact that the Cross River’s development as a destination is not just for the annual month-long festival.

    He said: “The key thing for us is that we are not just trying to develop a one-month event calendar, we are introducing a number of key things. We have the Jazz Festival, Mountain Race, and we are trying to introduce one or two things into our calendar, but beyond what we have in our calendar, we are trying to focus on our domestic market. In that regard, Calabar is the third in the country, behind Lagos and Abuja . We think we would overtake Abuja once our international conference centre is completed.”

    Asked whether the appreciable number of tourists currently trooping annually to the carnival was what he envisaged, former Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, said: “It is a game of traffic .You know Calabar is the end of Nigeria.From here, you are in Cameroon, so it is not Benin or Onitsha where people pass through. If it were Benin or Onitsha, put a few things, people will pass through and spend money and all that. Except you have business here, you don’t have cause to come. So, what we were trying to do is to create it as a destination. It is not a novel idea. That is what Las Vegas is all about; that is what London is even all about. If you take out the traffic, London is dead, right? So, you need to have pivotal that attracts people to come.

    “Tinapa is one of them, Obudu cattle is another. When eventually, I hope soon, Tinapa is fully functional, we expect to have about three million people visiting in the cause of a year. You envisage it, if three million people come here in the cause of a year and each one spends one hundred thousand naira, that is three hundred billion naira, and when you add the multiplier effects, it is over a trillion naira that would fuel the economy.

    “You know, I grieve when people say it is white elephant, such people don’t think outside the box. When we were here, we had to look at Cross River State and ask: if we were a county, what would we do? We can’t depend on the federation account; let us try and develop an economy; we are in the Niger Delta.

    “There is a lot of money in the Niger Delta, but we are not part of the money produced in the Niger Delta. So, how do we create an environment where all that money in the Niger Delta or a good chunk of it comes to Cross River? And this is it: this is a free zone, in other words, anything other than dangerous weaponry is free to come in here. So, what would take Nigerians to Dubai to London and all that , ordinarily, you should be able to find it here. That is the catchment, that is why people should come here.

    “I hope with the AMCON take over, they will get it right. I saw the advert for new management and all that. I spoke to their management and I think they came to interview me on what was my original concept and I spoke to them. If they could actualize it, this will be one of the most sought- after destinations in all of Nigeria.

    “So, the traffic that you see here in December, which is in isolation, just for the Christmas period will become a normal thing. So, throughout the year, you will have traffic, the hoteliers will make a lot of money, the restaurateurs will make a lot of money, transporters will make a lot of money. You just open a shop, something will happen because you have people coming in to buy. That is what it is all about. It is not a novel thing. It is a very simple idea .If Dubai did it, Las Vega has done it. Las Vegas is in the middle of nowhere.

    “And when Bugsy (Siegel), the guy who started Las Vegas, he was a mafia guy, started it ,it was in the era of prohibition, everything was prohibited: alcohol and so on. He went to the governor of Nevada and said I wanted to start the Sin City.You should give me a legislation, one mile, that was what they called the strip, one mile where all the prohibitions would take place. You could gamble, the sex trade and so on, everything you could do it here. The governor said as long as it didn’t cost us money, fine. He got the money from the mafia and told them in five years they would get their money back. Unfortunately it did not happen that way, so the mafia killed him. That was the story of La Vegas.

    “And take out Las Vegas from Nevada, the economy will collapse. Dubai did the same thing; Atlantic City is about the same thing; just create an avenue where people can come. So, here we have casinos, shops that you will not find anywhere in Nigeria or West Africa because most of the goods are prohibited because you know you can’t legally import clothes into Nigeria, you can bring in any of these things, and because t is duty free, it will be cheaper than even finding it in the United Kingdom because in the United Kingdom you are paying the taxes, the VATs and all that, here everything is duty free, so it makes more sense to come here and shop. People will say oh God! If it is shopping, this is where to be.

    “This is what we are trying to do. It is not easy, people just think that when you put up a building, you’ve done it all. No, you’ve got to get the management, you’ve got to get the commitment, you’ve got to get the passion. This is the work of passion, this cost 500 million dollars. Cross River State didn’t have 500 million dollars; what made this work was the passion and I had to get passion to be infectious. I had to infect Obasanjo with the passion; I had to infect his government with the passion and they all saw what we were trying to do and supported it.

    “Every state must have its economy and that is what forms the national economy. So, every state must identify something that it has a comparative advantage in. It may not be this; it may be agriculture; it may be something. It may even be cement production .

    “Take a state like Cross River, we could say we want to make cement our number one thing because we have 20 billion tones of limestone, that is the estimate. That can support 10 huge cement factories and we could be cement producers for all of Nigeria. Every state must find its own niche. I went to Kebbi State the other day, Kebbi can produce all the mangoes this country needs. Mangoes just grow wild there. I think the responsibility of every governor is to find the niche of his state and enhance it. That is the only way we can grow.

    “Once again, Cross River State has put up a terrific spectacle that left every visitor satisfied and asking for more. It could only lead one thing: a steady increase in number of visitors to Calabar and Destination Cross River will be the best for it. “

     

  • All set for first Calabar marathon

    The Cross River State has entered into partnership with Active Sports (Nigeria) Foundation and Connect Marketing Services to stage a world class international marathon to be known as ‘Calabar Marathon and Carnival Run’ (CMCR).

    The marathon race is scheduled for April 2014.

    The signing of final agreements and documents, between the government and the partners took place at the Cross River State Tourism Bureau (CRSTB), Okoi Arikpo House.

    The government was represented by the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Patrick Ugbe,as well as Michael Williams, Managing Director CRSTB. The collaboration between these two departments has delivered a new platform in sports development and tourism marketing for the State.

    Representatives of the partnering companies, Kazeem Abimbola, Executive Director of Connect Marketing Services (CMS) and Ndubuisi Kanu, Managing Director, Active Sports Foundation (ASF) were in the State to enjoy the Carnival Calabar 2013 fiesta before participating in the endorsement of the marathon by the government.

    While ASF has been granted exclusive rights as the sponsorship marketer for CMCR, CMS has also been granted exclusive rights as technical partners on the proposed race.

    Williams explained that the marathon will place Calabar in the league of cities with notable international marathons and mentioned the Reggae Marathon of Jamaica and New York Marathon, as notable events in the sports world with positive impacts on tourism.

    He also said ‘the CMCR will promote the rich heritage of the State and present a platform for sponsors on their products and brands, hence creating greater interest in the State as a life-style sport destination.

    Ugbe believed the product will engage more people in sports through racing, while promoting youth employment and healthier aging for retirees.

    The forthcoming Calabar Marathon and Carnival Run will be funded solely by sponsorship partners while also granting the State another opportunity to test its preparedness for the National Sports Festival 2014.

    The government will provide contributions in kind, to support the project. Such contributions will include: provision of government logistics, provision for medical support, provision for security and crowd control through liaising with the Nigerian Police.

     

  • Talents emerge as Calabar Festival gathers momentum

    The city of Calabar is abuzz with activities at this year’s edition of the annual month-long Calabar Festival, which kicked off last Saturday, with the historic lighting of the touted biggest Christmas tree in Africa.

    Reports say while the population of returnee indigenes is swelling, youths of school age can’t wait to get back from their sojourn to join the festivity.

    In its effort at galvanising the young ones into useful ventures, the state, yesterday discovered more talents to boost the entertainment industry.

    Tagged: Calabar Got Talent, the initiative is one of several activities in the ongoing festival calendar, targeted at discovering budding talents and nurturing same to stardom.

    Undeterred by the early morning downpour, the crowd gathered for what has now become a ground for the discovery of new talents. The platform, it is said, also offers them opportunity to win scholarships.

    With the excited audience acting as judges at the show, which held at the Millennium Park, a comedian, a rapper and a dancer were discovered.

    The show also featured notable Nigerian home-groom artistes like Teego, Uncle Eddie, Naughty Jay and another Calabar Festival discovery, Pikin, who added so much fun and laughter to the evening.

  • Making culture part of children

    Making culture part of children

    Calabar, the Cross River State capital, was agog with children cultural celebration last weekend when the Heritage and Culture Department of the Governor’s Office and the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC) organised series of dance-dramas and art exhibitions for children. Edozie Udeze who attended the show reports that the occasion offered the children the opportunity to display their talents to the delight of guests.

    Calabar, the Cross River State capital was frenzy with children cultural activities and festivals last weekend. It was one weekend when children took their fate in their hands. The Ekpe and Ewe masquerades which hardly appear in public were being celebrated by children. The children’s version of these great masquerades formed part of the many activities to ensure that the younger ones are in tune with their culture. As they moved from street to street, soliciting for money and appreciation, the drums beat and the masquerades danced. The street shows formed part of what makes Cross River State spectacular and unique especially this time of the year.

    But beyond the street masquerade dances, at the Cultural Centre in Calabar, the real big event for the weekend also took place. There, children from different parts of the state were on hand to display their dexterity and dancing prowess as part of the efforts by the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC) to ensure that Nigerian cultures do not fizzle out.

    This year’s annual children cultural festival was celebrated in Calabar for the first time. The idea was to give the celebration a national spread and to equally encourage children from that part of the country to continuously pay attention to what is their own. The theme was entitled My Root, My Pride, and done in collaboration with the Heritage and Culture department of the governor’s office in Cross River State. This was why the first lady of the state, Mrs. Obioma Liyel Imoke, was on hand to receive visitors and also encouraged the children to always be proud of their heritage.

    As the children mounted the stage to dance, the hall erupted with hilarious acclaim. With their series of costumes, set designs and props, they proved how much they had given to the dance patterns in order to demonstrate their level of preparedness. The dances were in different modes and shapes. The maiden dances for which the local people are well known dominated the scene.

    Yet the school children were mandated to showcase some elements of both the Ewe and Ekpe dance patterns. Here, the show was more of dance-dramas. The children were free to use the dance to tell their own stories. As they were engaged in it, they told the stories of the moonlight, the after harvest moments, fishing and farming, all of which formed the traditions of the people.

    There was plenty of grace and opulence in their movements on stage. At a point, many people began to wonder if the kids were really professional dancers. Each school was given fifteen minutes to showcase their dances. Since it was a competitive show, the timing was necessary to ensure that there was total discipline and cohesion. By this, the dances came in different stages as each school tried to outdo the other.

    More than what people expected, the drummers and other instrumentalists added the greatest vibes to the movements on stage. As they beat away with maddening frenzy, the stage was equally electrified with the best dance patterns one could ever expect from kids. It was the styles and the change from one pattern to the other that thrilled people most.

    Mrs. Imoke who chaired the occasion sat all through the programme and the glow on her face depicted her joyful mood. She was compelled to recognise that “there’s abundance of talents in these children. Therefore, we’ll continue to support CBAAC in its efforts to continue to promote our culture. The attention being paid on the kids is even more laudable, for they are the future of this great nation,” she said, while the audience applauded.

    In his own speech, Professor Tunde Gabriel Babawale of CBAAC commended the state government for the opportunity to have the show in Calabar. The natural allure of Calabar, Babawale reaffirmed makes it the cultural centre of our country and the people. He also reminded the gathering that CBAAC has chosen to invest in the culture of the kids because it is necessary to catch them young.

    According to Babawale, “Central to our quest for cultural continuity is the need to restore and promote interest in cultural values which are being gradually eroded by the impacts of exposure to western norms and values. This situation has dwarfed our children’s ability to understand and appreciate the beauty of African culture. Our children are as a consequence now dangerously exposed to western values transmitted via the media.”

    Based on this, the topic was chosen to direct children’s attention to their local languages, art exhibitions and dances, all of which centred exclusively on how to bring the message closer home. To Babawale, “Our prosperity as individuals and country lies in the values we inculcate in our children. Therefore parents, teachers and of course, the society at large should complement these efforts. The task of creating a peaceful and progressive society based on our common heritage is our joint responsibility.”

    In his own remarks, Chief Edem Duke, the Minister of Culture agreed that time had come indeed to induct culture into the lives of the children early enough. “If this lofty vision is to be realised, then our children should be initiated into these cherished values that are inherent in our children. In fact, given the pervasive dwindling interest in our culture and the need to encourage our young people to take pride in their roots, this programme is appropriate and represents a timely effort at national re-engineering.”

    With an exhibition of some art works by the kids, the event comprehensively paid tributes to the inherent talents in the children. And with over twenty schools in contention, it proved that if given the necessary leeway, children can always prove their mettle. This was why Senator Bassey Henshaw who was involved in the show and who provided the prizes for the winners felt that nothing done to encourage the kids could be seen to be too much.

    Present at the occasion were dignitaries from different parts of the country. They included Martin Adaji, Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria, Professor Okon Eya Okon of the University of Calabar, Senator Bassey Henshaw, Mary Agba of Heritage department and many others.

  • Fuel scarcity hits Calabar as NUPENG strikes over bad road

    FILLING stations in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, were closed yesterday.

    This was sequel to the strike aby the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in the state.

    An official of the union, who did not want his name in print, said the strike was in protest of the terrible state of the Odukpani axis of the Calabar-Itu Highway, which is the main road tankers’ driver ply in and out of the city.

    “We are going on strike to call attention of the government to fix that road. And we will continue until something is done about that road.

    “Just yesterday, a truck fell down along that road causing serious traffic jam. And that is what happens to tankers on that road on a daily basis. I’m not even talking about accidents that claim lives and spoil people’s vehicles all the time,” the unionist said.

    It was observed that only major marketers were selling petrol in the city yesterday.

    However, some stations that opened yesterday night were selling petrol for N130 to N150 per litre.

    Black market operators were also selling within the same price range.

  • Community rues location of Calabar dump site

    Community rues location of Calabar dump site

    For residents of Ikot Effanga Mkpa, a community on the new LEMNA Road in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, the permanent stench of refuse has almost become a part of their lives.

    Reason: within the community are acres of land, which serve as the Calabar dumpsite, where all the refuse gathered throughout the city is emptied.

    Calabar has gathered fame for its cleanliness. In fact, it is reputed to be the cleanest city in the country. Residents of the community feel it is their sacrifice to bear brunt of the state’s rising dirt-free status.

    The community, it was gathered, grew around the dumpsite, as before the construction of the LEMNA Road, there were hardly any residents around there. With the government’s city expansion project through the construction of the road that led through an area of the town that was before now secluded, houses started springing up.

    The habitation of the place became so much such that people were living right across the dumpsite.

    A resident, Mrs Cecilia Ekpang, said they had learnt to live with the hazardous situation, but she appealled to the government to do something about the situation.

    She said such a dumpsite should not be located anywhere near a city. She said: “Such a dump should not be close to where people are living, not to mention inside a city, such as Calabar. The level of risk we are exposed to here cannot be quantified, but what can we do, this is the place available for most of us to build our houses. Should we be the ones to leave the place for the dump? or it should be the dump leaving the place for us? Calabar is becoming a fast growing city and you can see the number of houses growing around this new area the government has opened up. So, as a government which I believe means well for its citizens as well as trying to uphold its status as sanitary conscious; I plead that this dumpsite be moved to another area for the sake of our health. Children are always getting ill around here and I am sure it is because of the air they breathe around here.”

    Another resident, Mr Daniel Bassey, said: “As it is now, you can smell the pollution in the air right from my house. But I tell you that is nothing. Come back in the night and you would wonder how we manage to survive here. In the night, the smell is so thick that you can even taste it. Even if you like, you can go inside your room and lock everywhere, the smell will meet you. I can only imagine the kind of things we breathe into our bodies. The government needs to do something urgently about the situation before some kind of epidemic breaks out here. In my opinion, a dumpsite, such as this, should not be anywhere close to where human beings are staying. It is a very terrible situation we face here and God is the only one who is keeping us.”

    Worried by the development, the Cross River State House of Assembly last week resolved that its Committee On Environment interface with the waste management agency and other relevant agencies to address the health hazard caused by the refuse dumpsite.

    The resolution was sequel to a motion of matter of urgent public interest on the danger of the refuse dump by the Deputy Speaker and member representing Akamkpa State Constituency, Itaya Asuquo Nyong.

    Nyong observed that with the fast growing status of the state capital, locating such dumpsite in the city was dangerous to the inhabitants.

    He said already two lives have been lost due to the outbreak of cholera, possible caused by the hazardous situation.

    The member representing Boki II State Constituency, Jacob Otu Enyia, noted that about N70 million was provided in the 2013 budget to tackle the issue.

    Enyia said the matter was of great concern and appealed to government to address the problem, before more harm would be done.

    The member representing Yala II State Constituency, Ogana Lukpata, said unless the refuse dump was removed, everybody around there and even passers-by were at the risk of contracting air- borne diseases.

    Member representing Odukpani State Constituency, Wilson Ekpenyong, called for a recycling facility as a permanent solution to the problem.

    The Commissioner for Environment, Dr Sandy Onor, could not be reached for comments on the situation.

     

     

  • Calabar: The beauty, thrills and memories

    Calabar: The beauty, thrills and memories

    From all perspectives, a recent tour of Calabar was very delightful, justifying the tourists’ assumption that the ancient city is always a tourist delight.

    Although the visit was for the National Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Library Association (NLA), it gave the conference’s participants the opportunity of knowing more about Calabar’s tourist sites and their potentialities.

    The Cultural Centre, Calabar, the venue of the conference, displayed some of the tourist expectations of the rich cultural values in other parts of Cross River state.

    The well-paved roads leading to the centre were beautified and they showcased some elements of the abundant tourist attractions in the state.

    The conference of librarians also attracted exhibitors, publishers and friends of the association.

    During the conference, 14 papers were presented, while three celebrities, including Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom and Chief Emeka Ofor, a prominent businessman, were honoured with NLA Merit and Eminent Personality Awards.

    The participants savoured the aesthetics of the neat and well-planned city but their ecstatic mood switched into to a sombre mood when they visited some places.

    They visited some places of interest such as the Marina Slave Museum and Tinapa Business Resort, among others.

    The visit to the museum brought back the memories of the horrific Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, which was then perpetrated by European slave traders and their African collaborators.

    The visitors walked in a single file formation to re-enact the way the slaves were forced to move in chains to “their destinations of no return’’.

    Viewing some of the antiquities and artworks was quite emotional and, in fact, some of the visitors broke down in tears.

    Some of the artworks reflect the slaves’ voyage to faraway places, during which they were forced to lie down in a way that made it virtually impossible for them to communicate with one another.

    In the artworks, the weak and sickly slaves were isolated from the healthy ones, while some were thrown into the sea.

    The emotions of the visitors could have lingered for a longer time if they were allowed to take pictures of the revealing artworks.

    One of the chambers of the museum contains the chains and shackles used in tying up the slaves to prevent them from escaping.

    The visitors were told that the slaves were exchanged for valueless items such as guns, hot drinks and mirrors, while each of the items could be exchanged for ten human beings.

    Another chamber contains the slave-masters’ rods, which were used for stamping identification marks on the slaves.

    Some of the artworks contain images such as white men flogging fleeing slaves and bull dogs, used by the white slave-masters to hunt down slaves.

    One of the artworks depicts slaves groaning under the yoke of heavy chains, while working on sugarcane plantations.

    Some of the artworks provoked strong feelings in the tourists, as some of them, who could no longer control their emotions, burst into tears, recalling the striking instance of man’s inhumanity to man.

    Some of the visitors asked thought-provoking questions such as: “How could the people who brought Christianity to us unleash this kind of bestial acts on our people?

    The visitors, however, found solace in a chamber of the museum in which the statues of Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a former slave who later became the first African Anglican bishop in Nigeria, and William Wilberforce, who fought for the abolition of slave trade, are erected.

    At the Tinapa Business Resort, a magazine — Waka About Africa — carried a cover story, “Badagry: A Walk Through The Slave Route’’, which caught the attention of the visitors.

    The publication argued that before Africans could blame Europeans for the atrocities of the slave trade, they should first investigate the involvement of various community leaders, who searched the hinterland and captured the slaves for the European slave merchants.

    The magazine, however, noted that after the proclamation that made slave trade illegal, the trade stopped in British West Indies in 1863 and in Brazil in 1818, while Africa followed in 1870.

    It noted also that long after the abolition of slave trade, the inhuman trade in persons still flourished in Badagry until 1886.

    The general consensus among the visitors is that other forms of slavery still exist nowadays, citing human trafficking and child labour as examples.

    They underscore the need for governments and relevant agencies to make concerted efforts to eradicate any form of modern-day slavery.

     

    •Ejiogu is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

     

  • Youths urged to embrace education

    A non-governmental organisation (NGO), the 1 GAME Campaigns, has said that its activities in Nigeria’s North-East region were aimed at building a new generation of children who will stand against violence and terror due to the education they had acquired.

    The organisation recently launched campaigns aimed at supporting school children with learning materials and improving enrolment into western schools in Borno and Gombe states situated in North-East Nigeria, a region that is so vulnerable to terrorist attacks and whose attackers campaign against western education.

    Addressing Muslim youths in the southern city of Calabar during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, founder of 1 GAME, Philip Obaji said it would be almost impossible for children to be recruited into insurgent groups in North-East Nigeria if every child is educated.

    “I hear some people say the reason for the insurgency in the North-East region is political. Some say it’s a fight over supremacy of religion while there’s a debate about the actual reason for the insurgency. No one has argued about who the foot soldiers are.

    “Isn’t it clear that they are the ignorant children and youths who have been talked into taking their own lives by fighting against western culture just because they lack basic education?

    “That is exactly what I see; ignorant children fighting against a culture that has saved many of us from hunger, poverty and disease.

    “Is it easy to ask an educated child to pick up arms to fight for no meaningful reason? Again, is it easy to ask an educated child to pick up a bomb and take his life along with others just because of a dislike towards western culture?

    “So, you see where the problem is. People mislead our children because they are ignorant and uneducated,” he said.

    Obaji also called on Nigerian youths to play a leading role in the fight against violence by inspiring children into embracing education and supporting initiatives that are helping to put kids into school, saying “it’s the simplest way to defeat terrorism in Nigeria.”

    “Yes the military is fighting to defeat terrorism. But like I’ve always said, military action alone wouldn’t solve the problem. We need to ensure that the current generation of children shuns this evil. That can only be achieved if we give them the right education, which is what we are fighting for,” he said.