.Over N19 billion spent to stage carnival since inception

Africa’s biggest street party, Carnival Calabar, will, for the 20th year, be staged in the city of Calabar, Cross River State.
The state government also returned the event as a month-long programme after the former governor of the state, Prof. Ben Ayade, reduced it to two weeks.

Carnival Calabar is held every December and was declared by the then governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, as an activity to mark the Christmas celebration yearly. He said his vision for creating the festival was to make Cross River a home of tourism and hospitality in Nigeria and Africa.

With the theme, ‘Our Shared Prosperity’, the government has upped the ante and introduced additional programmes to make the event memorable.

Speaking on the idea behind the theme in Victoria Island, Lagos, Special Adviser, Event Management, Governor Office and Chairman, Festival Committee, Cross River State, Effiong Ekpeyong, said over the years, the festival has had engaging themes and it’s the responsibility of the governors to come out with one that befits the year’s programme, and then, it will be interpreted through costumes, dance and others to suit the carnival.

“Last year, we had ‘Season of Sweetness’ as a theme, and this year, the governor decided to choose ‘Our Shared Prosperity’.”

Speaking on the carnival’s impact on small businesses in Cross Rivers State, he said: “In December, from sachet water sellers to the hotels and food vendors have witnessed growth; there is a place we call the festival village. It runs 24 hours from December 1 to January 2. There was a time we decided not to open the festival village owing to some issues, but people revolted.”

Assessing the Carnival, Chairman, Cross River State Carnival Commission, Gabe Onah, said: “Carnival Calabar has gone through a period of evolution; from our humble beginning, when we used to mount all the icons of Cross River State tourism, investments, and opportunities, showcasing them. This sector was founded by the desire to change our story and empower boys and girls.”

When asked the amount government has spent so far, he said: “How much can you spend for peace? A forward-looking government will do anything to ensure peace. We inherited about 3,000 created jobs, today, there are 50,000 jobs.”

Speaking also, the carnival’s head of the marketing company and CEO Okhma Consult, Mary Ephraim-Egbas, said, “Carnival Calabar is a viable product. There is stability, which means people can invest and plan around such an event. The carnival attracts over two million attendees physically. People continuously look forward to coming to Carnival Calabar and it’s also a good networking opportunity.”

She said: “We went from 3,000 rooms to over 27,000 rooms. A lot of people have become ‘intrapreneurs’ because of the carnival. People produce costumes and other things used at the carnival. The government spends and makes money; the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) goes up around that time.

“The government spends over N1 billion on the carnival yearly and that says a lot about why other states have not been able to keep their carnival because it takes guts to spend that kind of money. The state has been intentional.”

On the partnership with the state government, Chief Marketing Officer, Yanga Game Technology Limited, Clement Okolie, said: “We will be having people winning different prizes from cash prizes to items, an all-expense paid trip to Calabar for the carnival. We are looking at giving out cars. We are coming in as a partner in progress to make Carnival Calabar a greater one.”

He continued, “The arts ensure that in a society, whose wellbeing is paramount, emancipation of the people as well as developing her ability to be informed in the political process is an idea to be sought after alongside civic initiatives and movements.

“The Camp will aim at educating the youths for active citizenship and developing their ability to evaluate information critically learning to form their own views. Part of the goals of is also to show how important their voice is, supporting them in articulating and showing what they can do when they mobilise together.”

Participants will use their skills for the betterment of the society. “It is their abilities and talents especially in the arts that will galvanise the people into taking actions that will better their lives and society ultimately,” said Oteh.