Emeka Anokwuru
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has called on people around the world to show kindness to one another in other to promote humanity. Ayade, who was represented by his deputy, Professor Ivara Esu, made the call in Calabar during the second dry run of the 2019 Calabar Carnival with the theme “Humanity”. He said that the theme was chosen to make people see the need to be humane and to live in peace with one another. The governor, who said that peaceful co-existence, unity and tolerance should rule the mindset of people around the world, urged the bands to do their best in interpreting the theme of the 2019 carnival. “This year’s theme is humanity; I hope that the band leaders are doing their best to give full interpretation to the theme.
“For us, the theme is about humanity and kindness to people.We should be tolerant of one another and also treat every human being with due respect irrespective of any affiliation.
“If you decide to treat people badly, you too will be treated badly, so, what we are emphasising on is the need for everyone to be treated equally.
“As we come out for every celebration of the carnival, we will continue to play our part in ensuring that the carnival continues to grow bigger, better and bolder,” he said. Earlier, Gabe Onah, Chairman of Calabar Carnival Commission, said that the new theme was also designed to reach out and touch the people towards kindness and unity. Nah said that the Bikers’ Carnival was also flagged off earlier with a view to excite tourists along the 12 kilometres carnival route. Onah said that Calabar Carnival has become a platform to taste how cultural events are planned in Nigeria. “Calabar Carnival has become the best platform for cultural diplomacy. The first dry run witnessed the attendance of Bangladesh and Belize diplomats, offering partnerships in power production and distribution and support for our cocoa processing.
“For the next dry run, we are expecting Vietnam to come and partner with the state rice seedlings to see how they can bring farmers to promote the next level for our farming.
“The dancing and display we see in the streets is a means to an end. The job behind the Calabar Carnival is huge and that is why we are saying that we must begin to change as we move,” he said. Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Eteng Jonah-Williams, said that the assembly will make adequate budgetary provision for the Carnival Commission to enable them organise a colourful event. Jonah-Williams said that the assembly was suggesting on having ‘The Cross River House of Assembly Band’ to add colour to the event. The participants were colourfully dressed in their various bands costumes, while security was mounted along the routes to ensure a hitch free event.