Calabar on Thursday stood still as the parade of the bands took centre stage in the ongoing cultural festival christened: "Carnival Calabar".
The parade, which saw the various bands in their colourful
costumes dance through the 12 kilometres carnival route, also saw a large
number of residents, tourists and fun seekers cheering them.
Declaring the parade open, Gov. Bassey Otu of Cross River
said they were bringing back the carnival in a bigger platform where it could
truly be referred to as international brand.
He added that the essence was to ensure that Cross River was
really the choice tourism destination in Nigeria.
Some of the tourists from Lagos, who spoke with the News
Agency of Nigeria(NAN), said that the Calabar carnival was truly the biggest
street party in Nigeria.
Mr Adebayo Adeyanju, a medical practitioner, who was
attending the carnival for the second time with his wife and two kids, said it
was really a spectacle to behold, adding that his kids were happy.
He, however, appealed to the government of Cross River to
develop other tourism potentials of the state so that tourism would be an
all-year-round activity not just in December - during the carnival.
“We have Obudu Cattle Ranch that is no longer functional; we
have the Agbokim Waterfall and even Tinappa. All these great tourist sites were
pushed down due to poor management,” he fumed.
Miss Clara Frederick, a Canadian, who was visiting calabar
for the first time, said she was having a good time as she had been treated
well by the residents and would like to visit again in 2024.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there is
massive presence of security officials at different parts of the city,
especially along the carnival route, with vehicular movements effectively
diverted.
This is to forestall a reocCurrence of the 2022 incident
where some people lost their lives and many were injured by a recklessly driven
vehicle which ran into the carnival route.
The various bands are expected to interprete the theme of
the carnival which is: The season of Sweetness.”
They are expected to perform at different adjudication
points where they will be judged by a panel and the winning band will go home
with a cash prize.
Some of the competing bands in the event include the Master
Blaster Band and Seagull Band.
Others are Diamond Band, Bayside Band, Passion Four Band, Calas Vegas Band among others. NAN
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