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Tag: carnival

  • Calabar Carnival: Ten years of street party in Paradise City

    Calabar Carnival: Ten years of street party in Paradise City

    THE attendants at the restaurant of the Tinapa Lakeside Hotel were finding it difficult coping with tens of people that kept on trooping to the dinner table to have their breakfast. It was going to be a long, hectic day.  The Paradise City would be shut down. It was the carnival day, December 27.

    It was encouraging on a closer look at the profiles of the hotel guests. They were individuals, couples and families that could have decided to travel to the United Kingdom, Dubai, South Africa or Ghana for their Christmas holiday. The fact that these families would prefer to come and have fun and relax during the yuletide in Calabar shows the progress Cross River State has made in building the state into a destination. To achieve this, it has taken 10 years of annually throwing a showpiece, the Carnival Calabar,  to entertain the world.

    The 2014 edition of the Carnival Calabar is the tenth. The carnival was begun in 2014 by the former governor of Cross State, Mr. Donald Duke. Having identified tourism an area that the state had a comparative advantage, it was important to create a product that would attract tourists to the state to be entertained and  experience the hospitality of the people of the state.  The Duke administration held the first two editions of the festival, but it was the period of nurturing and trying to build the carnival into an acceptable product.

    The transformation of the Carnival  Calabar in a spectacle that many Nigerian families look forward to was done by the current administration led by Governor Liyel Imoke.  The current government in the state has, in the last eight years, nurtured the festival to a tourism product.  The socio-economic effect is very apparent in Calabar. Calabar still retains its lay-back mien. The low crime rate and the atmosphere leisure and relaxation with little or no care in the world are still there.

    Calabar, as Nigeria’s prime destination, has seen a steady rise in the bed spaces available in the city. Restaurant and fast food business in the town have also grown.  In no place is this clearer than in the old Marian Street now Ndidem Usang Isang  Street. The street has been taken over by restaurants, fast food outlets and other leisure activities. The reason for this is not far-fetched. It is the longest stretch in the 10-kilometre carnival route and most visitors troop to the street to watch the carnival.

    Cross River State, in the last ten years of the carnival, managed to build a tourism brand that many have come to accept. The state, knowing the enormity of the responsibility that comes with bringing visitors to a destination, managed also to keep all the other ancillary activities like the security and  environmental sanitation tick and maintained general law and order . However, kudos must be given to the people of Cross River State, most especially the Calabar people for their hospitality. The environment is welcoming, so also are the people. This makes for a quality destination which the state has become.

    Although so far so good, certain indicators at the 2014 carnival show that after ten years, the carnival needs to be re-scrutinised.  The high level of creativity and aesthetics that go into the costuming need to come. It went down a notch. There were some grey areas at the final presentation at the stadium that the organizers need to re-visit and correct.

    One area that has also kept  people in suspense and helped festival to continue to grow is the band’s story line for. The Masta Blasta, the winners of the last three edition, has been winning due the strong plot and ability to deliver captivating story lines. This added to their beautiful costuming.

    The chairman of the Carnival Committee, Mr. Gab Onah, has been around from the beginning in 2005 and looked back at how far the festival has fared after a decade: “It has been a humbling experience from when we mounted the high points of Cross River State on floats and drove through the city streets of Calabar, till when we decided in the year 2005. Through our three weeks’ training, our band managers are able to make costumes locally; through regular dry runs, our revelers are able to perfect their road match; through the formal unveiling of themes, our revelers and our band leaders are able to conceive themes and identify philosophies to play to and therefore give the carnival itself story lines and life. The desire has been that the carnival should have a life of its own, and that is where we are; and that the carnival should be the people’s carnival; and that the future should be with or without government, the carnival should go on.”

    He believed the festival has seen  the high and low but that each experience has been a learning process: “In the last ten years, for our highs, we got sponsorship and created awareness. The likes of Guinness, Ecobank, First Bank and the others, came in to appreciate the huge opportunity that they had in marrying with this great brand. So, it created opportunity for these brands to identify and merge. What we are praying is that in the long term, the government should only be in position to provide the enabling environment while the private sector runs with it. The bottom line is that if we get it right, as we seem to be doing, this should be a source for survival for our boys and girls who participate in the carnival route match.”

    One of biggest advantages of tourism as an industry is its ability to impact directly on host community. Individuals within the community are direct beneficiary of  tourists coming to a host community. It is every evident in Cross River. Food vending business has blossomed for many. The craft artisans have also received a lot of patronage from tourist visitors.

    Mr. Onah captured it succinctly: “Our culture is our best foot forward in our tourism initiative. Our culture is the palm oil with which our tourism eaten. The carnival itself is a means to an end. We are using it as a pull factor to attract tourists who will come and savour culture and thereafter want to visit the attractions. As you are aware, out attractions are enjoying an over-supply. The destinations that they have become from their site status. So, there is not carnival as a pull factor, Calabar being at the end of the road, would have remained a dead end, the carnival gives the reason people to come here, that has been achieved.

    Socio-economic impact is obvious: Photographers everywhere, pure water sellers, vending opportunity on a 10-kilometre route. You can see that the crowd this year overwhelms that of last year. But until we make it a people’s carnival, we are not there. “

    In the last 10 years of the Carnival Calabar, different areas of tourism have been dived into by many who see the opportunity. In line, with most destinations all over the world, the state this year was   the introduction of open double decker bus for tours. This was done by Nova Rosta  Bus Tours.

    The head of the company, Miss Geraldine Itoe, spoke about the company and what they are trying to do in Calabar: “Nova Rosta is into events and sightseeing. We will be carrying the  governor for today, around the carnival route . It is open to the public on normal days. We have two basic routes, the Tinapa Route and the City Tour Route.  We have only one bus for now; we will certainly add some more in the near future.”

  • Carnival of culture

    The Federal Polytechnic, Nekede (NEKEDE POLY) management has organised a cultural carnival for staff and students. EKENE AHANEKU (300-Level Medicine and Surgery, Imo State University) and CONFIDENCE EWUZIE (ND II Mass Communication, NEKEDE POLY) report.

    The Federal Polytechnic, Nekede (NEKEDE POLY) in Imo State was a sight to behold last week. Students came out in different shades of armour-like vests made of soft wood thread. They looked resplendent. They moved round the campus, singing and dancing according to their departments.

    It was the maiden edition of Carnival of Arts and the Culture organised by the Office of Polytechnic Development. The event is to promote peaceful coexistence and harmony on the campus.

    Setting the tone for the ceremony, the Rector, Mrs Ugochi Njoku, said it was a rare privilege for her to organise such an event since the school was established.

    The school stadium, where the event was held, was filled to capacity as students trooped into the facility to catch a glimpse of the carnival. A traditional troupe added colour  to the show through its stunts.

    Each department came out with its team of revellers for performance. Members of staff were not left out.

    Students of Faculty of Engineering brought their ingenuity to bear with the display of building architecture and various engineering masterpiece. The Department of Architecture used wood and aluminum sheet to design a replica of the polytechnic’s school gate.

    Female students of the Department of Arts and Design used cement sack and wood thread to cover their bodies as they performed their dance steps. The Fishery Department brought a canoe they designed for the occasion.

    Pupils of the polytechnic’s staff school were not left out. They displayed breathtaking acrobatics.

    Speaking to CAMPUS LIFE, Mrs Njoku said: “The event is organised to ease the academic tension on campus. Students are having fun with their lecturers. This will promote understanding, which will in turn engender excellence. We have made all efforts to ensure the event is successful and I believe after this, students would return to their classroom refreshed and rejuvenated.”

    Students, who spoke to our correspondents, hailed the management for the event, describing the carnival as the biggest social event on the campus.

    Chidera Ogbonna, a ND II Food Technology student, said: “I am happy to witness this carnival. This is the first of its kind and I must say that the management led by the Rector has done a wonderful job putting the event together. It is the biggest social event on campus this year.”

    Describing the event as successful, Uche Felix, a ND 1 Mass Communication, said: “I enjoyed every bit of the performance, especially the one rendered by students of Arts and Design Department. For me, it was all fun. I can’t wait to witness next year’s edition.”

    Students of the Architecture Department were adjudged the best in acrobatic performance. They were given the sum of N50,000 as reward for their innovation. Department of Fishery got the Most Creative Department award, while Arts and Design Department got Best Costume award.

    Dignitaries at the event include Eze Godwin Onyewuchi Nmerenin Dibia 1 of Umudibia Nekede, Deputy Rector, Mrs Florence Eleke, Librarian, Mr Christian Enyia, Bursar, Mr Adolphus Obi, Registrar, Mr Matthew Aligbe and Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr S.N. Ohakwe, among others.

  • Suswam, others for Benue youth carnival

    Suswam, others for Benue youth carnival

    Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, commissioners and prominent residents are among eminent people expected at this year’s Benue Youth Cultural Carnival procession.

    The procession will start from the Benue State University’s (BSU’s) second campus and move through major streets. It will terminate at the IBB Square in Makurdi, the state capital.

    Thje Benue Youth Cultural Carnival is the biggest youth fiesta in the North and it is an annual cultural show held throughout December.

    The Special Adviser to the Governor on Students and Youths Affairs, Comrade Terfa Akume, told our reporter that this year’s carnival procession would include cultural activities, such as masquerade display, beauty pageant, puppet show, traditional music and folks tales.

  • Carnival: Two killed, shops looted in clash

    Two unidentified youths were on Saturday killed at Agbeni/Agbaje area of Ibadan, in Ibadan South West Local Government of Oyo State, when some youths clashed during a carnival.

    When The Nation visited the scene of the incident on Saturday, over 20 shops were vandalised while their goods were looted by the hoodlums.

    It was also learnt that over three other streets were affected by the violence which lasted over an hour.

    A source who pleaded anonymity said ‎:” The carnival started peacefully till around 11pm, when the gun-wielding youths shot sporadically into the air, making everybody to scamper to safety. There was another rival group that came to confront the youths at the carnival and that was how all this problem started”

    A resident, who identified himself as Demola said the violence was as a result of a misunderstanding between the two youths groups that were supporting different political parties.

    Narrating the incident, he said, “Some weeks ago, a politician in the area organised a political rally and the youths from Foko who are mostly from another party came to the rally and were attacked by the politicians boys.

    ‎”Three boys sustained injury, and with what happened over night today, I believe this is a retaliation. Two boys were killed, while some were also injured and they have been taking to an undisclosed hospital by the police”
    A landlord, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, said the area was no longer safe.
    He urged the police authorities to station an armoured tank in the area.
    He said, “Violence has become common in Agbaje area whenever election is fast approaching and these hoodlums are known by all but they seem to be above the law‎.

  • A sour carnival dinner

    The arena and settings to host the Abuja Carnival 2014 Command Performance and dinner at the State House, Abuja, last Wednesday, were promising to those who saw the elaborate preparations before the programme kicked off.

    The carnival, which involves the 36 states, the FCT and foreign countries, is packaged by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism, headed by Edem Duke, while the FCT is to provide all necessary facilities and welfare for the state contingents.

    At the dinner, 74 round tables, with ten chairs surrounding each table, were well decorated for the occasion billed to hold for four hours from 6.30 pm to 10.30pm.

    Apart from the tables decorated with new green super print wrappers and assorted drinks and water on them, the white curtains on the wall surrounding the hall was intermittently decorated with the same green super print wrappers and orange-coloured version of the wrapper from the ceiling to the floor.

    Besides the drinks on the table, there were several drinks’ service points by the walls surrounding the hall. There were also eight service points for assorted local and continental dishes.

    Signs that the elaborate occasion may not be well attended started showing when the hall was barely half-filled by 7.30p.m.

    According to the programme for the occasion, guests were expected to be seated by 6.30p.m., special guests to arrive by 7.00p.m, while the National Anthem was supposed to be rendered when the President arrives by 8.00 p.m.

    Probably because of the poor turnout at the occasion or the hectic week for President Goodluck Jonathan who returned from London last week Sunday after attending Honorary International Investors Council (HIIC) meeting, went to Chad on Monday, was in Kebbi State on Tuesday, and went for screening at the PDP secretariat on Wednesday afternoon, the President’s podium and security details were withdrawn from the arena few minutes to 7p.m.

    Those who noticed the withdrawal of the podium and security details still kept hope alive that the event will be attended by Vice President Namadi Sambo.

    But the hope was dashed when the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, was ushered into the scanty hall as the President’s representative by 7.40p.m.

    To make the hall a bit presentable, guests who were scattered round the 74 tables, planned to seat 740 guests, were made to move to unoccupied seats between them and the special-guests’ high-table.

    After the scattered guests have been moved forward to sit together, the unoccupied tables in the hall were 35 in number, which would have sat 350 guests.

    Analysing of the guests seated in the hall also showed that almost half of them are foreigners.

    Interestingly, out of the over 30 ministers in the present cabinet, only three ministers were present at the event including Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau, and Supervising Minister of Health, Khaliru Alhassan.

    The Minister of FCT, Bala Mohammed and the Minister of State, Akinjide Olajumoke, who are the host for the carnival and whose pictures were in the event programme, also did not attend the function.

    The Director-General of an agency under the ministry, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, Sally Nbanefo, who came in around 8.40p.m after the event started for about one hour, stayed only for about ten minutes at the occasion.

    She completely stayed away from the high-table as she sat among the guests in the middle of the hall before leaving.

    The few dignitaries and guests at the occasion, no doubt, had a splendid time as there was food and drinks in abundance. Some of them helped themselves to double ration of the food. Some artistes and cultural dancers from Nigeria and outside the country also performed at the occasion.

    When the stewards noticed movement of some of the guests to the unoccupied tables, including ladies wearing dresses that expose their cleavage, breasts and barely cover their backside, to take away the can drinks in their bags, the stewards started removing all the drinks on the unoccupied tables.

    But there was more than enough to eat and drink in the hall.

    The poor turnout at the event could be partly attributed to the seemingly disarray in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which has been weighed down by fraudulent allegations and counter-allegations.

     

    Unending clashes of the titans

     There seems to be no end in sight for the frequent clashes between the former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan.

    In the past, such clashes were underground and most times discarded as rumor and figment of the imagination of bad-wishers.

    To confuse Nigerians then, the two leaders were often seen together after such report of rift between them with the former President paying visit to Aso Rock or attending one official function or the other at the seat of power..

    Such was the situation until Obasanjo released a letter on the 2nd of December last year raising weighty allegations against Jonathan.

    Among the allegations was that Jonathan was training snipers and keeping over 1000 Nigerians on watch list towards the 2015 elections.

    Jonathan, through a statement issued on 22 of December last year by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, replied Obasanjo accusing his administration of carrying out many irregularities during his tenure.

    Jonathan then accused Obasanjo of granting questionable signature bonuses waivers, and lack of carrot and stick approach in the invasion of Odi.

    Jonathan then also declared that Obasanjo’s letter was a threat to National security as he ordered the probe of Obasanjo’s allegations.

    Almost a year after that clash, the result of the probe has not been made public as many Nigerians believed that the two leaders have finally reconciled. They have even been seen together several times since then.

    But surprising the hostilities between them came to the fore again with the former President raising fresh allegations against Jonathan twice in the past ten days.

    Obasanjo on Friday 21st November, 2014 during an encounter with book writers in Abeokuta, Ogun State, scored Jonathan’s administration low when asked of his view on Jonathan’s performance.

    Jonathan replied through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, claiming that Obasanjo’s comments were untrue, misleading and that his achievement is better than any administration since 1960.

    Obasanjo fired back on Wednesday 26th of November Obasanjo, insisting that the economy “is in the doldrums, if not in reverse”

    The earlier these issues are addressed and laid to rest the better for Nigerians as they are not only heating up the polity but increasing the apprehension of the citizens towards the 2015 elections.

     

  • Heralding new Abuja Carnival

    Heralding new Abuja Carnival

    For some time now, the tempo and fun surrounding the yearly Abuja Carnival have been low.  But in order to re-infuse life into the Carnival, the federal government has just appointed Mr. Biodun Abe, a stage design expert whose love for artistic aesthetics is never in question as the Director of the Abuja Carnival.  In this encounter with Edozie Udeze, he bares his mind on how to run a carnival that is all-encompassing where aesthetics, guerilla theatre, street jams, and decorations and more, will be involved.  Excerpts.

    In the past few years, the Abuja Carnival event had been a bit in the doldrums. Owing to the lacklustre organization and some other fundamental issues, many people, particularly Abuja residents, had come to see the event as lacking in glamour, style and colour. Abuja carnival was started about ten years ago to give the nation’s capital an opportunity to enjoy such a festival for relaxation and fun.

    A few weeks ago, the federal government announced the appointment of Mr. Biodun Abe of the National Theatre, Lagos, as the new director of the Abuja Carnival. It is part of the attempt to make the carnival come alive once again.  And Abe, a renowned stage designer and director who has produced several stage designs and plays both locally and internationally says in this encounter that he is ever ready to re-ignite the flame of the carnival and make it a must watch by both the low and the high. “It is time for us to make Abuja people and other visitors to the city to fully participate in the carnival. It is their carnival. It is a carnival to make everybody unwind, loosen up and be in the best mood for relaxation”.

    With the theme as Building an Enduring Creative Nation, he said: This is time for hard work, more work to make sure that I do not disappoint the people who reposed the confidence in me by appointing me. It is also time to work to keep the people in the industry attuned to the issues of the carnival. About the content of the carnival as it is now, I am cool with it. It is the execution, the pre-carnival events and so on that needs to be changed. For the carnival of that stature to make a lot of impact, there must be emphasis on the pre-carnival events. The people need to be sensitised. You should not turn the people that own the carnival to mere spectators. The people have to be partakers in the big event called Abuja Carnival. And when we do so, we refer to the indigenes, the people who are living in Abuja. These people must be given a sense of belonging; let them be part of it”.

    By this, however, Abe intends to engage the six satellite areas of Abuja to fully be conscious of their roles in the event. He said, ‘Yes these areas include, Nyanya, Gwagwalada, and others. From there, we will start the campaign from the grassroots. Three weeks to the event proper, we will hoist and install big balloons that hold the images of the people, showing the mood of the people to be in the carnival. The title here will be the last time you saw a carnival. With glistening light that can show at night, and then during the day, it will keep reminding the people that the carnival is here to stay. This balloon is about 18feet tall hovering over the city, with different colours of the rainbow. This will of course form a mini-carnival on its own.”

    Hoping to use this as a formidable platform to engage most of the stakeholders in the industry to be at their best for the purpose of the carnival, Abe explained thus: “Everybody will be totally involved so that they will continue to talk about it like people still talk about Festac ’77. To hoist the balloon, I intend to engage artistes that can work in a guerrilla performance; that is street theatre to also attract attention. Thus, there have to be certain scenarios that have to do with a festival. They will wear gorgeous costumes and while they are doing this, they are telling the story. This will be more noticed in those areas peopled by visitors and residents who hardly mix with others. The awareness has to be total and effusive. There will be stickers in conformity with the carnival that will also be in place. This will be distributed alongside the street performances. Both private cars, buses and passers-by will be given these stickers”.

    By also engaging transporters like the interstate big buses, the carnival planners hope to spread the awareness to more rural places. “The campaign will include Ifesinachi and the rest of them. We want to make them also show interest due to the number of people they bring into the city. I intend to hold a meeting with them next week to fine tune modalities for this. We will brand their vehicles with big posters and stickers for the carnival. Even the six local government councils of Abuja must be part of this initial preparation because the local people have also a role to play. I will have some colourful posters pasted at the council offices announcing the carnival. This has to be at the entrance of each council so that people will see it easily. This will also encourage the workers to be fully involved in the whole exercise”.

    For Abe who loves aestheties and uses colourful materials to improvise most often, this is the appropriate time to bring this to total fruition. “Arts, to me, thrive on aesthetics. And for me what does this mean? You cannot take away light, you cannot take away the effect of light. Two weeks to the event, I will be able to extend my scratchers in Abuja to let people know that something very special is about to happen. Two, I will have a street gallery that shows popular roads and streets in Abuja where you can get images, framed images, wrapped in beautiful colours and these will glitter from time to time. But there will be light at night too. This will be an unparalleled aesthetic appeal. All these images will have a footnote of Abuja Carnival 2014”.

    Because all aspects of the arts will be engaged in this, the plastic artists have their own roles to play. This is so in order to ensure that no one is left out. “Yes, it is one big market and therefore they have to be involved in it. The plastic artists will have the theme to explore, put people in visual form to be able to see and view the carnival on canvass. They have to create designs and pictures out of the theme. There’s going to be an artists’ village where they will converge for people to come and view what they have. This is referred to as a stationery gallery. At the end of the day the artists will sell and people will still go back there much later to buy more works”.

    Also in all these, all the film houses in and around Abuja will be engaged. Abe insists that this will help to encourage artisans to be in the show. “For sure, I will engage all the film houses, art institutions and all to be able to collate all the films running within the time to be shown from time to time. We will encourage them to announce these also in our event programme. This will help people who would like to go to cinema to watch the films to do so. This is also to make it a show of varieties. From the cinema, you can come and be part of the musical jam. This will run into the early morning, where different musicians and the rest of them are expected to perform. In addition, the Abuja Cultural Centre will have plenty of live theatre running to hold the interest of those who love such. All the days of the carnival, the live theatre of different kinds will be on stage”.

    Other usual events of the carnival like the regatta, the children carnival, the durbar and others will be in place. However, the street will be shortened in such a way that they will be heavily manned and decorated in varieties of colours. The float tolls have to change to include the usage of bicycles, motor bikes and keke napep to decorate them to suit the tastes of visitors. Abe said, “All these will help us to have different concepts. We need to move away from the old routine to give modernity and varieties to the concept of floats. While people wait at the Eagle Square, they will feel good doing so, because the variety of floats will give joy to their hearts”.

    He intends also to engage the less-privileged and the cripples whom he says will be expected to perform with their rollers. “when I get to Abuja, I will talk to them.

    You have to give them some costume that doesn’t cost much for them to come and do their stunt.  They will use this to welcome people to the Eagle Square in their own special way of doing so.  Also, I don’t feel good when you ask a taxi driver to take you to the Eagle Square and he’d ask you what are they doing there?  That is not proper; everyone within Abuja has to feel the mood of the festival and try to be part of it.  Thereafter, we will have a forum where we will analyse how we fared.  This has to happen after the carnival so that we’d know how much of what we intended to do that we achieved.”

    Then after that, the team hopes to concentrate on how to improve in the marketing aspects of the carnival so that the next edition will come out better.  In terms of security, Abe agrees that those responsible for that are also getting fully prepared to secure the venue and the people who are going to be part of it.  “I know the necessary things are being done for us to have a carnival where we will not have issues,” he said.

    For now, Abe was not sure how many foreign countries that would be participating in the carnival but was quick to add that as usual those who have been part of the show in the past editions are likely to honour the invitation once more this year.  “Now that we know that Nigeria is free and safe, I hope a bigger number of countries participating.  But as at now, I can’t categorically name names or say the exact number that will be coming.  It is the content that I am so bothered about; in that area I want to make a whole lot of difference.  I want to deliver a carnival that is unparalleled with aesthetics experience that has never been seen or witness before.  Abuja is the biggest carnival in this part of the world and what we intend to do is to make it much more bigger and appealing to the people.  And by His grace, we will have the best carnival that everybody will be proud of.

    In the area of masquerades which have over the years drawn the attention of guests to the Eagle Square, Abe said, “yes, we will make them more dynamic this time around.  Instead of mere parade, they will be made to perform, to thrill the people.  Those antics of traditional masquerades have to be displayed so that people will have value for what they’ve come to watch.  In this case, we will have to work with the handlers of the masquerades before the day of their outing in order to fine-tune all these areas.  They have to be dramatic and aesthetically involved in whatever they do.

    Abuja Carnival therefore is bound to draw people from all over the world as a vital tool for tourism.  The number of people who troop into Abuja every November to watch the carnival, to participate in it, the food sellers who come from all over the federation to hawk, to sell and make money, all add value to the carnival.  In all, we’ll ensure that this glow and tempo are raised from this edition onwards,” he proffered.

    This year’s carnival is expected to begin on November 24th and end on 28th at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

  • Imoke opens 10th Carnival Calabar’s activities

    Imoke opens 10th Carnival Calabar’s activities

    Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke has kicked off the mock event of the 10th edition of the Carnival Calabar, with the theme, “Celebration Time”, in Calabar.

    The governor, who was represented at the ceremony by his deputy, Mr. Efiok Cobham, stated that this year’s event was significant in the life of the administration since it will serve as “a hallmark celebration to user in” the next government.

    “Ten years is no mean feat. For us, Carnival Calabar has grown bigger and bigger as we promised Cross Riverians and Nigerians when we came on board in 2007. With our vision of institutionalising the event, by allowing private sector to be the main drivers while government regulates, there is greater hope that this carnival will grow in leaps and bound,” he said.

    Imoke noted that the institutionalisation of the yearly festival was still been test-run following the formation of the Carnival Calabar Band Associations, which are now the main drivers of the event.

    “Last year you said it was the biggest. This year is going to be extra ordinary,” the governor said.

    Imoke, who praised the private organisations for discovering the event as one of the major brands in the country to invest in, said: “There is no other mega brand than the carnival. If you want to enjoy visibility in your business, the carnival is the best deal.”

    Chairman, Carnival Calabar Commission, Mr. Gabe Onah, added: “Today, the private sector has taken full ownership of the celebration with the band enjoying enormous sponsorship.”

    He stressed that this year’s “event will be fireworks.”

    Also, Chairman of the band associations, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, who was excited about the level of sponsorship the association has enjoyed following the legal framework put in place by the government, said she was amazed to observe that despite the financial challenges the state has faced over the years, it has remained consistent and committed to the actualisation of its tourism drives.

    She announced the gains of the private sector’s participation in the event, as including N15 million donation from the Nigerian Port Authority and a brand new Hilux van donated by the SCOA (Nig) Ltd. She stressed that the proceeds and other donations were used in acquiring a befitting office for the bands, which she said was a normal practice by carnival organisers globally.

    The governor’s wife, Mrs. Obioma Liyel Imoke, later presented the utility vehicle to the bands’ association.

  • Violence in Akure over stoppage of carnival

    Violence in Akure over stoppage of carnival

    Uneasy calm pervaded Akure,the Ondo State Capital on Friday as Youths and indigenes of Akure went on rampage to protest the refusal of the state government to allow them hold their much publicised”Akure Youth Carnival celebration”.

    The irate youths stalled commercial activities and  barricaded the popular Oba Adesida road and vandalised many facilities in the capital city.

    It took the intervention of the men of the riot policemen to disperse the angry youths who made bon fires to show their grievances against the ban. Earlier, at the Akure city hall the youths had been addressed by the President, Akure Youth Coalition(AYC) Comrade Adekanbi Oluwatuyi who expressed his disappointment over the refusal of the state government and the heavy presence of the security men at the improvised venue of the carnival.

    Oluwatuyi who described the development as a slap on the face of Akure and its people  said they would  not resort to violence to show their grievances. It was learnt that the carnival which was slated for Friday had been announced  for over two months.

    Popular musician, Saheed Osupa was billed to perform at the carnival with thousands of Akure in diaspora already invited and dressed in Uniform ‘Ankara fabric’ Trouble started when the youths got to the venue of the carnival only to realize that it  had been condoned off by men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

    The expectation of the jubilant youths were however cut short as security authorities ordered them to vacate the venue of the event.

    While narrating his ordeal, the AYC President, Oluwatuyi who wept over the disappointment said the event was initially scheduled to hold last year but shifted to the  April 17 this year because of the death of the late Deji, Oba Adebiyi Adesida, Afunbiowo.

    He said a letter had been written to the state government alongside security agents intimating them of the event and also to formally request for the use of Democracy park. Oluwatuyi said on  April 1, a letter of approval was sent to him, approving the use of the Democracy park for the carnival.

    He said despite the fact that letters of security coverage had been sent to the Nigeria Police Force, Ondo state command, the State Security Service (SSS) and other security agents, the event was cancelled at the last minute.

    Oluwatuyi said three days to the event, he was called that a letter was awaiting him from the Ministry of Transport. He said the letter was meant to terminate the approval of the Democracy park to use for the carnival on the ground that the place was under construction.

    Oluwatuyi said ” a rational mind would know that that place is not under construction, the government and other bodies have been using that place for over two years.

    “We went to Kabiyesi, and told the king, our “Oba” in my presence called concern authorities, ranging from the Commissioner for Transport, Nicholas Tofowomo, the Secretary to the state government, (SSG) and others we don’t want to mention their names and to my utmost surprise they did not pick the Kabiyesi’s call.

    ” After many steps have been taken, the Regent concluded that we should make use of the Akure City hall, since it was built by Indigines of Akure.

    “We were surprised when we were told again by the state government through the SSS that we can not hold the carnival because the rival cult groups were coming to strike, I told them we are no cults but only Akure indigenes that want progress for our town.

    ” We explained to them that we are no cult group, we explain to them that we are only out to give post human award to our dead heros and bring Akure people together.

    “Infact I personally went to the SSS and told them that they should have given us the security report that cult groups are coming to strike instead of telling the government, but I was shocked when the SSS said they did not issue any report of such

    ” Oluwatuyi added. Oluwatuyi said himself and his colleagues were at the Akure City hall- improvised venue of the carnival all through the nite to prepare the stage for the musician and preparing ground for the event.

    “We were surprised this morning when we came here (Akure city hall) and saw heavily armed security agents barricading the venue of the event,” Oluwatuyi said.

    He said it was funny and shocking when the security agents said there was a standing order that the event could no longer hold because Boko Haram members are in town. Oluwatuyi said the Police Area Commander of Akure personally told him that members of Boko Haram are in Akure and the event was subsequently cancelled.

    Enraged by the development, the youths went to “Baba Omolaree” house to rain curses on whoever was instrumental to the cancellation of the carnival.

    Investigation revealed that the “Omolaree” house is a revered traditional place which means a lot to Akure people The youth leader explained that millions of Naira had been expended on the carnival including payment of the popular musician, Osupa who had been paid and also checked into a hotel in the town.

    Reacting to the development, the state police command said they are not involved in the cancellation process.

    Speaking on behalf of the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mr Yemi Lawal said the police authority had approved the event to hold and had also prepared to provide security.

    The Police however said after all arrangements have been made, the state government made an observation and cancelled the event. But in a swift reaction, the Commissioner of Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade said the state government cancelled the carnival in view of the insecurity in the country.

  • 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. “

     

  • Abia to hold carnival

    The Abia State government is to hold the first-ever carnival where the indigenes of the state who are in

    show business will be urged to showcase their talents and let the people who have not seen them to see them and admire what they have been doing outside the state.

    Speaking in Umuahia, the Chief of Staff [COS] to the governor, Cosmos Ndukwe, said that the carnival, which has the theme, “showcasing our cultural heritage”, is part of the fruitful restoration and transformation of the state through displaying the rich culture of the state.

    Ndukwe said many people do not know that the sizeable percentage of those who make entertainment industry tick in the country are Abians, adding that the people of the state are eager to see them live.

    He explained that there are many tourism sites in the state, and that many more are being discovered on daily basis, stressing that the carnival will afford those coming for the event to see what the state has to offer in the tourism industry.

    The COS said: “This carnival will offer Abia youths a dynamic tool for self-expression and exploration and provide a platform for us to prove to the world what tourism destination we as a state have become”.

    Ndukwe said the carnival will feature rich cultural displays which will have financial rewards for the youths of the state who have distinguished themselves, especially in the social world.

    He said: “As it has always been the case, the reward would be to boost their endeavours, while serving as a formidable springboard for the upcoming ones. We intend to gather our best together for the world to appreciate”.

    The COS said the organisers of the carnival will exploit their relationship with the corporate world to source for funds and called other distinguished Abians both at home and abroad to identify with the noble cause.

    He explained that the state government is already talking with some of the corporate bodies and distinguished Abians to see how they can key into the great opportunity to help themselves, the state and the people.