The Calabar carnival is Nigeria’s famous street party festival and the biggest carnival . In the continent of Africa acclaiming international recognition. The traumatic incident that takes place in 2022 left 14 people dead. Nearly 30 persons wounded. as a car crashed in the midst of a festival. To understand ground realities we must have to know what Calabar festival is?.How this incident takes place amid security measures.
Nigeria The Emerging Market
Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country with various tribes and indigenous people. Nigeria is considered an emerging market. Due to its large population and growing economy. The Calabar city is situated at the southern end of in Cross River State of Nigeria. It is considered one of the main cities in Nigeria. The Calabar city is the cleanest and most environment-friendly city in Nigeria. It is the main tourist attraction of the country mainly due to the Calabar festival. The Calabar carnival resembled the Rio carnival of Africa. The mastermind behind the Calabar festival was the then governor Donald Duke. Whose vision is to attract tourists in order to boost the economy of Nigeria.
Calabar Festival
The first Calabar festival was held in 2004 from the 1st to the 31st of December marking the celebration of Christmas all over Nigeria. The carnival draws nearly 2 million tourists from all over Africa, hence becoming the pride of Nigeria. The festival since its incarnation is divided into four main events notably Millennium Week, Sports Week, The TINAPA Family Festival, and Carnival Week.
The carnival goes at its peak after the family festival. The Calabar carnival starts with exciting activities including a food competition, music concert, a street march, fashion show, an essay writing competition, a dance show, and a religious ritual. A whole village is set up with a Christmas theme in order to celebrate Christmas. The Calabr carnival also awards the band of the year award which is broadcasted live on television and has an estimated audience of 50 million people.
The Black Eye On Calabar Festival: Why?
The lively Calabar carnival got a Black Eye as the painful accident happens on the 28th of December 2022 when a drunk driver crashes his car in a packed street in Calabar Carnival during the bike parade. The bikes parade was the main event of the day and the street was fully crowded to see the event. The Local commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps which looked into security issues state that a Toyota Camry car hovered over the street breaching security controls.
However, the driver was drunk and has been arrested at the spot as the car was completely destroyed due to the incident. The governor of Cross River State had ordered to do immediate investigations and showed sympathy and condolence for the victims. The witnesses claimed that the driver was tossing money on the road, the people rush to grab the money and the ugly incident happen at the moment.
Conclusion
The carnival was sudden end to that day due to the incident. Such events which happen annually always have a special place. In the hearts of people and the incident of a drunk driver in the Calabar carnival. Additionally, will just bring bad memories to the people.
