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This year’s Calabar
Festival climaxed on Monday, December 27 with the colourful annual
carnival, perhaps now the most famous in Nigeria. Having had the
equally spectacular children carnival and cultural parade the previous
day, it was the turn of the senior bands to dazzle spectators with
their floats, costumes and dances.

And they didn’t
disappoint. The five bands; Bayside, Masta Blasta, Seagull, Freedom and
Passion4, gave people who either sat or stood along the 12-kilometre
carnival route enough entertainment to last them till the next edition.
Thousands of people stayed to watch the procession, supposedly Africa’s
largest street party, from the start point at Millennium Park till it
terminated at dawn on Tuesday at the U. J Esuene stadium.

Governor of Cross
River State, Liyel Imoke, in the company of his wife, Bauchi State
counterpart, Isa Yuguda and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi amongst others flagged off the procession almost
two hours behind schedule. He later explained what caused the delay.

“The official start
time is 2pm and yesterday (Sunday) the carnival bands had problems
because of the rain. Their floats had been damaged so the heavy rain of
the night before delayed the start of the carnival. The reason the
carnival starts at 2pm is because people trek for 12 kilometres. When
they start in the hot sun, by the time they get to the end of the
carnival they are exhausted. The bands themselves prefer the evening
carnival because it is less stressful on the human body, that’s one. A
night event, especially at the stadium, showcases much better than a
day event. The colours, the lights and so on present a much more
beautiful picture to the audience.” There was, however, no stopping the
bands once the train set off. Apart from entertaining with their
dances, music and costumes, they also gave different interpretations to the theme, ‘Our Strength and Resilience: The Bedrock of our Future’.

The bands

Bayside, the first
band off the block chose to focus on ‘Pillars of our strength’. The
band which adopted a lion as its symbol showcased the agricultural,
forest, wildlife, mineral and tourism resources of Nigeria in its five
sections.

Masta Blasta chose
to play up ‘One nation, one destination’ and highlighted Nigeria’s pre
and post independence periods. The band led by Gershom Bassey also
incorporated unity into its presentations, depicting the Yoruba, Hausa
and Igbo, Nigeria’s majority groups. Masta Blasta also made a case for
conservation, dressing its king like the endangered drill monkeys found
in the state and its queen like the Euphaedra Ferruginea (Queen of the
forest), a rare specie of butterflies also resident in the state.

Though its float
wasn’t really impressive, Passion4 celebrated the Black person, family
and personalities including the Madiba, Nelson Mandela, Marcus Garvey,
Leopold Sedar Senghor and Okot P’Bitek amongst others. Seagull Band
reiterated the unity in Nigeria’s diversity, recalling Nigeria’s past,
present and tomorrow in music and costumes and other props.

The Nigerian Army,
Navy, Civil Defence and First Bank, sponsors of the carnival also
participated in the parade. While the Army Band made people dance with
its lively music, First Bank wowed many with its big and small
elephants. The bank also had a giant float decorated in its blue and
white colours.

Beyond banking

Kano prince,
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, showed his other side during the carnival. Those
who think running the nation’s Central Bank and quarrelling with
members of the National Assembly is all the slim banker is about, are
mistaken. He also loves his culture. Sanusi facilitated the Durbar held
as part of the carnival. 23 beautifully costumed horses and riders from
Kano, Sanusi’s home state, featured in the street party.

“It took us two
days to bring the horses here from Kano,” disclosed the Shamakin (head
of servants) to Sanusi who didn’t give his name. “I feel very happy
participating in this carnival because it is an opportunity to show our
culture and see other cultures. It’s good to show people in the south
our culture but also good to see theirs because it facilitates
interaction. Culture will unite us because we will understand each
other’s culture,” he added.

Salihu Ahmad,
another of the horsemen, described his participation as a “lovely
experience.” The rider who was at the carnival last year disclosed that
the costume of each horse costs N25, 000 while a full grown horse costs
N110, 000. Ahmad added that Sanusi also rides horses and performs in
Durbars when he wishes.

It wasn’t only
Sanusi’s men that participated in the Durbar, first held last year,
however. Three of his sons, Adams, Imam and Sanusi Junior,
distinguished from the rest by their white turbans, also joined in the
colourful, happy procession. The youngest of the three brothers
reportedly kicked against being put in a bus to be taken home after the
parade, preferring instead to continue riding with the men when the
parade ended.

Mama Bakassi’s show

The leader of the
Seagull Band, Florence Ita-Giwa loves razzmatazz and has never failed
to add colour to the carnival. Mama Bakassi, as the former senator is
called, usually brings Nollywood stars to join her band and she did so
again this year. Musician, actor and winner of Big Brother Africa-the
All Stars edition, Uti Nwachukwu and comedian, Nkem Owoh, better known
as Osuofia, joined her train. Ita-Giwa’s party which also included
artists Kalu Ikeagu and Emeka Ezeocha was hailed continuously while the
parade lasted.

Passion4 rules

Though some people
had hoped that Passion4 Band, three times winner of the carnival would
not emerge tops again this year, the band eventually carried the day.
But why wouldn’t it? All the beautiful ladies in Calabar seem to be its
members. Attired in green, with some clad in skimpy shorts and tops,
the ladies probably won the judges over with their winsome smiles and
somewhat erotic dances. The band won N10m for its efforts while
Ita-Giwa’s Seagull, despite the Nollywood stars, came second. Masta
Blasta, which float was equally not very impressive came third. Both
got five and three million naira respectively.

Seagull however made up in the junior category, emerging the band of
the year and going home with one million naira. Masta Blasta was second
and Passion4 third. The bands were judged on their ability to interpret
the theme, best carnival spirit, best float and costumes.