Maximising Gains of Annual Carnival Calabar, Calabar Festival

By Dianabasi Effiong

When Gov. Liyel Imoke of Cross River flagged off the 2013 Carnival Calabar at a press conference at Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort he also assured that the 2013 edition with the theme “Ain’t No Stopping Us’’ would be bigger, better, fresher, greener and most importantly meet the expectations of the audience and spectators.

According to the governor the presentation of James Ene Henshaw’s play “This Is Our Chance’’ heralded a welcome return to theatre at 2013 fiesta..

Imoke said that various charity events to raise money for youth empowerment programmes and the underprivileged were also part of the cultural milieu.

The Calabar festival began in 2000 as a Christmas celebration for residents of Cross River while its carnival component was introduced in 2005. The festival is easily the largest event of its kind just as its carnival component is acclaimed “Africa’s Biggest Street Party with several visitors and costumed revellers.

As expected there were thrills and spills at the just-ended Calabar Festival when the carnival train took off from the U.J

Esuene Stadium and completed a 12-kilometre route within the Calabar metropolis.

It began Nov. 30 with a Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony. The colourful lighting of the Christmas tree, reputed to be the tallest in Africa was performed at midnight by Imoke at the Millennium Park, Calabar. It was laced with fireworks and performances by up and coming Nigerian musicians discovered during auditions for the festival.

Ace comedian, I Go Die, entertained participants including the First Lady, Obioma Liyel Imoke, Minister for Culture and Tourism, Mr Edem Duke, Nollywood stars – Kate Henshaw, Rita Dominic, Gideon Okeke, Bryan Okwara and a former Military Governor of the state, Air Vice Marshal Gregory Agboneni (Rtd).

Imoke said at the occasion that Cross River remained  “that place in Nigeria where every Nigerian will be proud to be, where you can see the governor walking about, associating with his people, not afraid, part of the crowd, and the people are warm, happy and beautiful’’.

He expectations were that young people should utilise their talents positively. He recalled that just like the Cross River-born music star, Inyanya, many talents were discovered during the yearly festival.

Similarly, Duke also urged governments to galvanise resources and train young artistes to use their creative abilities and better their lots even as he also urged the people of Cross River to explore their talents and showcase them to the world rather than wait on government to provide their needs.

He said: “These dancers and drummers can win for us the future, bring resources to our families and glory to our state. We must establish a self-belief, believe in yourselves, and believe that if you are such a good dancer or drummer, there is a future for you.

According to the minister the sitting of about N2 billion projects for a Creative Academy at Ikot Nakanda, Akpabuyo Local Government Area of the State, remained instructive: “It is also a clear testimony of how important government holds the works of creative Arts among youths in the area,” he said

He also announced the offer of 10 scholarships by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to provide opportunities for people to learn creative Arts of carnival as from 2014, adding that the carnival had since “transformed from a street party into an economy’’.

Mr. U. K. Eke, Executive Director Public Sector South, First Bank of Nigeria, also said: “The Calabar Carnival has grown to be one of the biggest tourist attractions in Nigeria and Africa. It has enhanced the economic development of Cross River and our great nation’’. He assured that First Bank having established its second branch in Nigeria in Calabar since 1900 would continue to partner with Cross River to boost social, cultural and economic gains.

The children carnival, a unique display also added more colour to the 2013 carnival.

Mr Chris Agibe, Chairman Calabar Carnival Commission, described the children’s fiesta’s 2013 four-kilometre dry run thus:

“Children are the leaders of tomorrow. It is important to design a unique costume for them to participate in the carnival.

Mr Bassey Archibong of Passion 4 Band spoke glowingly about the event: “The children carnival is unique because it nurtures the children to grow into full carnival ambassadors. It is very important to build the carnival from this foundation. Children are the foundation of the carnival. The children are all geared up  and with the number of children here, we believe that there is a very strong future for Calabar Carnival.

Archibong said parents and guardians gave their permission before their wards could participate in  the carnival.

Other offerings at the carnival included Jamaican born gospel music icon, Chevelle Franklyn, who held fun seekers spell-bound through her gospel songs at the Millennium Park.

The night featured choral competitions by some church congregations within Calabar and other choral groups including the Nigerian gospel musician and Saxophonist, Mike Aremu, gospel artists like Marvelous Odiete and C’Mion and the audience singing, dancing and chanting to praise songs like “Christ is the reason for the season’’.

Home grown artists also thrilled with their hit songs at an event tagged `Calabar Rocks’. They included TuFace Idibia, Inyanya, Davido, Sound Sultan Teego, Uncle Eddie and Naughty Jay.  ‘Oruka’ crooner, Sunny Neji,  ‘Arumba Style’ Master, Ras Kimono, ‘Omoge’ sensation, Mike Okri. Kunle Ayo, a Kora award winning artiste also thrilled the audience to some tunes made popular by late Afro Beat King, Fela Anikulapo- Kuti.

Other side attractions included some home grown gospel acts – Frank Edwards of “You Go Bless Me O” and “Onye Memma” fame; Deaconess Nenka, who sang in her native Yakurr language, Ekanem, and Cross River All Stars; Fadabasi (Abasi Ayaya); Faso Rank (I am Not a Qualified Doctor); Efiom Trombone (Eyen Calabar); and King Feladey. Comedians who treated the crowd to rib-cracking jokes in a segment tagged: “Laffmatazz 11” included Julius Agwu, Robert Ekpo, HOD, Ibez, Freedom Brothers and Akpororo.

Alexandria Folk Dance Troupe of Egypt, presented its first ever dance drama on Nigerian soil at the carnival with the Egyptian Ambassador in Nigeria, His Excellency, Ashraf Salama, tourists and others appreciating the beauty of Egyptian/Arabian culture.

The performance also offered the audience an opportunity to experience a whirlwind of pageantry and celebration usually experienced in temples, weddings, street fairs and festivals where the Egyptians celebrate life.

Mr. Ali El Gendi, Artistic Director and Troupe Choreographer, spoke on the significance of the Egyptian showpiece: “These dances arose from Upper Egypt, Cairo and Alexandria, and were an integral part of both ancient religious ceremony as well as secular celebration. These dance forms were performed in towns and villages where men, women and children all knew the colourful Baladi and Saiidi movements.

“The troupe decided to be part of this year’s Calabar Festival for the first time to give Nigerians, the chance to experience colourful and exotic folk dances of ancient Egypt as passed down through different generations through the history Raqs Sharqi.

“It has never performed in Nigeria before. Calabar is the first city in Nigeria to host the Alexandria Folk dance Troupe. We see Nigeria as one of the few exciting places in Africa. We have heard so much about the Calabar Festival. Last year, the Brazilians were here, many other Caribbean countries participated in the carnival. And we have found out that it is such an amazing and wonderful place in Nigeria. We came to add colour, flavour and appeal to the Calabar Festival,’’ he said.

Miss Nancy-Olive Aisagbonhi, 18, of Edo, a student of Niger Delta University, was crowned the 7^th Carnival Calabar Queen. She featured at the pageant as Miss Mary Slessor and was also declared the face of Mothers Against Child Abandonment (MACA), an initiative of Cross River First Lady, Mrs Obioma Liyel Imoke. She will also serve as an Ambassador of Tourism for the State.

Similarly, after successful inaugurations in Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Enugu, Benin, Aba, Owerri, Kano, Kaduna, Onitsha, Asaba, Uyo and Abuja, the new DTT (digital terrestrial television) service, GOtv rolled out its services to five additional cities during the festive period. These cities; Akure, Calabar, Ogbomosho, Oshogbo, and Ife were launched with a new bouquet,

GOtv Extra.

Mrs Elizabeth Amkpa, General Manager GOtv Nigeria, who announced the development in Calabar, also said that the group decided to launch its latest product at the Calabar Carnival. According to her GOtv is delivered to homes in Nigeria via the use of the latest DVB-T2 technology, which guarantees a one-off migration to the digital age.

Masta Blasta, the largest and most populated band at the Carnival Calabar emerged winner of Carnival Calabar 2013., According to the Chairman, Cross River Carnival Commission, Mr Gabe Onah, Masta Blasta defeated four other bands – Seagull, Freedom, Bayside and four time winner, Passion 4, to emerge overall winner. Masta Blasta Band had defeated Passion4 at the 2012 edition of the carnival.

Some tourists said that the festival and carnival ranked among the best in Africa. Mr Christian Harry, a tourist from Lagos, said: “In spite of the high cost of hotel accommodation and traffic; the festival was a memorable one for me and my family members. It is nice to give one’s wife and children a treat and spend quality time with them in an atmosphere of festivity.

Harry, however, said the traffic situation had affected his plans to further explore the Canaan City.

Mrs Blessing Asuquo, a business woman from Akwa Ibom, said that she decided to attend the festival to explore business opportunities in the city. Asuquo said that she was impressed with the cultural display so far and commended the state government for the initiative.

A commercial driver, Mr Richard Okonkwo, said that with the influx of visitors, his daily income had tripled after the festival

was flagged off by Imoke. He, however, said that the increasing number of vehicles plying the roads had compounded the traffic situation and consequently affected his profit margin.

More than seven countries- including Brazil, Ghana, and Trinidad and Tobago – and some states in Nigeria participated in the carnival; with the Nigerian Army, Police and Civil Defense Corps participating as non-competing bands.

The festival got more sponsorship this year. They included the DSTV joining other First Bank, Guinness, Dangote, Unicem, among other corporate bodies.

Some traders at Calabar Festival Village also complained that the sudden change of the venue of this year’s Market, from Cultural Centre to Calabar Municipality Local Government Council Headquarter adversely affected their businesses.

A trader, Mr Innocent Onu,  said that the shift was shocking to him, adding that the usual bubbling associated with the carnival market was lacking.: “I came from Port Harcourt. I have been attending the market for the past three years at the usual venue, cultural centre.

“Surprisingly,  when I enquired this time they told me that the venue had changed, and since Dec. 5, when I arrived, I have not enjoyed much sales as before, ‘’ he said and  attributed the slide in business activities to the nature of the venue.

“Here, it is only one entrance, while in cultural centre, there were about three or four entrances where people troop in and out, ‘’ he said.

Another trader, Mr Eugene Banga, from Cameroun, said that the usual crowd that normally attended the festival village at cultural centre was lacking.

“Honestly, this is not the usual market we used to witness in the past. I believe it was due to the change in venue. May be next year people will get used to the venue, ‘’ Banga said.

Their losses were others gains as some residents of Calabar made brisk business by charging fees for use of seats displayed on both sides of the Carnival routes taken by participants and spectators.

The residents, whose houses or business premises were contiguous to the carnival routes, set up chairs and canopies and charged various sums of money from fun seekers. Seats placed under canopies went for N500 per person while those in

open spaces cost between N200 and N300.

But the shock of the festive period came when Imoke slammed an indefinite suspension on 20 of his 40 cabinet members. Seven commissioners and 13 Special Advisers were suspended by the governor for failure to attend the World’s AIDS Day anniversary Walk . The four-Kilometre World AIDS Day Walk also heralded the flag-off of the state’s Annual Calabar Festival on Dec.1 and was attended by Imoke and other cabinet members.

The affected cabinet members were compelled to hand over to their permanent secretaries or the most senior officers in their respective Ministries and Departments and Agencies

That notwithstanding, the Senate Leader, Mr Victor Ndoma-Egba, also lauded the carnival atmosphere saying that tourism and agriculture were the main sources of revenue generation for Cross River state.

“Cross River is naturally endowed with tourist facilities and massive land for agriculture, and we have taken full advantage of

this precious gift.

“Every state in this country has one endowment or the other, my advice to all components of this country is for them to take charge of their natural endowment.Carnival Calabar is all about fun, and we must ensure that we have maximum fun in totality.

“Recently, Cross River State and Calabar have become the pride of Nigeria as far as tourism, carnival and hospitality is concerned,’’ Ndoma-Egba, also a member of the Bayside Band, one of the participating groups in the carnival, said.

Mr Efiok Cobham, the State’s Deputy Governor said Carnival Calabar had impacted the state’s economy in various ways.

“From the economic perspective, Carnival Calabar is a revenue driver. From the tourist’s perspective, Cross River has witnessed a large turnout of people in and outside the country. It  attracts over 100,000 costumes, revellers, and a million local and international spectators. It is the biggest street party in Africa,’’ he said.

According to him the carnival is a unique visual display of innovation and creativity, featuring cultural influences and traditions from the past and present in costumes, drama, dance and music.

Officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps provided security coverage for participants at the fiesta