The second edition of Rivers State Carol Night, tagged “Hosanna 2016”, like the maiden outing of the previous year, was impressive in many ways. The event signalled a great effort at the rebirth of moral values among the people, particularly the young ones.
It is safe to say that the carol night has replaced the state’s carnival show, which started in 2008 and went into limbo until its revival in 2011. Revival of culture – whether that of Rivers State people, Nigerian or African – is a good idea, but revival of moral and religious values, which the carol night seeks to achieve, many believe, can be more enduring.
The carnival years of 2011 to 2014, were doubtless, no wasted effort. They brought notable artistes and entertainers like Mama Gee, Psquare, Davido, Terry G, Morgan Heritage, Buster Rhymes, Wande Coal and M. I. Abaga to perform in the state. Six bands regularly participated in the carnival procession, with five of them, namely: Jubilee, Liberation, Dynamic, Fusion and Treasure, taking part in the competition proper. There were varieties like beauty pageant – which produced Miss CARNIRIV and a children carnival, designed as a mini-procession and commencing from the Elekahia play-ground to the stadium, where the children would be given refreshment and as one commentator put it, “unrestrained entertainment.”
In his speech at ceremonies marking the commencement of the revived festival, CARNIRIV, December 20, 2011, Nabbs Imegwu, then Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, described the event as “a top line composite culture and entertainment festival that connects with the public through a variety of culture and freestyle components.” He assured that the event would soon assume its pride of place as a global cultural and tourism brand. The assurance was given more teeth when Tele Ikuru, then deputy governor, who represented then Governor Chibuike Amaechi at the event, said despite the security challenges that were being faced by their administration, government had done much to ensure the safety of life and property and that the people should go all out and enjoy themselves at the show.
Rivers State is not alone in the carnival business. Calabar, the Cross River State capital, has been hosting a similar carnival since 2004, when the then governor, Donald Duke, had a vision to make the state the hub of tourism and hospitality in Nigeria and Africa. Lagos and Imo states are also known to have been holding such carnivals. Activities of the carnivals include musical performance, boat regatta, fashion show, Christmas village, traditional dance, masquerade show like Ekpe of the Efik and all manner of parades by groups.
CARNIRIV, which was sponsored by Rivers State Tourism Development Agency, was said to have had up to a million participants. Each edition of the carnival lasted seven days – with two events daily – one held during the daytime and the other at night. So much was also spent by the state to host the event.
Many Rivers State people and Nigerians, generally, are happy with the change of face in the Yuletide celebration. The carol night has been significant to the state and nation in many ways. It has brought Christians of various backgrounds – Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Pentecostal and all – to one spot, the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, for fellowship and united prayers for peace and unity of the state and for God’s direction for the nation’s leadership. It was a thing of great joy to see men, women, youth, government officials and others, neatly dressed, tucking the Bible in their arms and turning into the stadium on the evening of Friday, December 16, 2016. It was also good sense seeing politicians and Christian leaders and others unite in prayer for this beloved state.
Was it not gladdening seeing Governor Nyesom Wike taking the microphone and turning over the pages of the Holy Bible to read aloud God’s word in beautiful prose? Hear him:”The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them had the light shined. Thou has multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy of harvest and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil……”, Isaiah 9: 2-7, (KJV). As the governor was reading those lines, you felt the glory of God sweep through the crowd. For this writer, no truth about Rivers State could be stronger.
It was easy to see angels bringing warmth and succour to lives, families and relationships. The message of peace for the soul, which the Christmas season echoes, was wrapped in the first two verses of the eight-verse scripture Deputy Governor Ipalibo Harry-Banigo later read from Matthew 1:18-25: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
“Then Joseph her husband being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived of her is of the Holy Ghost.” It was the second Bible reading. The Christmas message is one bringing hope for despondent minds and families. The passage addressed an untrue case of infidelity that was about to rock the holy family and make a mockery of the birth of the saviour of the world. But God promptly spoke to Joseph and peace navigated the hearts of husband and wife. It was the same measure of peace, which guarantees an atmosphere for development that Wike sought for the Rivers State family when he replaced CARNIRIV with carol in 2015.
The selection of the singing groups was good job: Cay Wood Brown Foundation Mass Choir, The Port Harcourt Male Ensemble, Niger Delta North Diocese Choir, Christian Unity Mass Choir, 1000-man Choir and 1500-man RCCG Mass Choir. Interestingly, Wike selected one of the world’s most revered preachers and a man noted for his great sense of humility and passion for godliness, Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, to teach God’s word for the night. Adeboye urged the Rivers State people to always look up to God for their blessings. He prayed God to grant them the needed peace to continue to make progress on all fronts.
Wike was brief and very emphatic in his address that night. “This state has been handed over to God. We cannot do anything without reference to God because with God on our side, we will continue to emerge victorious. I believe that Rivers State will continue to see peace and to pray for it”, he said. He harped on the need for peace in the state and urged men of God in the state to continue to pray for the state. He said Adeboye had prophesied during a Holy Ghost Prayer about his election victory and he emerged victorious at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court also decided his Obio/Akpor local government council chairmanship in 1999.
At the first carol festival of the state held on December 20, 2016 where the first 1,000-man mass choir sang, Wike said the event was organised to thank God for the successful take off of his administration.
He said then that as chairman of Obio/Akpor local government, he was the only council chairman in the country whose political litigation got to the Supreme Court. “I got my victory at the Supreme Court in April 2000,” he said.
Bishop Winston Iwo, special adviser to Wike on Religious Affairs and chairman of the carol night organising committee, described the occasion as unique, considering the challenges the nation and the state were facing. Iwo said 2016 was particularly a tough year for the state because, according to him, the enemies, as the Bible put it, had come like a flood but that God raised a standard against them. He was right.
To bring out a large crowd of people for a stadium event in a December of recession can be likened to climbing Mount Everest. It must not be forgotten that the dust raised by the-run elections in the state was yet to settle. Like the maiden edition of the carol, Iwo said the event was the governor’s initiative. He said the governor had promised that the event would be annual “to bring about the joy of Christmas and celebrate the mercies of God.” Iwo, the presiding bishop of
Grace Covenant Ministries in Port Harcourt, worked with the Christian community in the state, particularly the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, and the Christian Association of Nigeria, to achieve success in the two editions of the carol.
In the past, carol night was exclusive to church organisations. But it has become an increasingly fascinating attraction to national and state governments, entertainment groups and even individuals. Leading the pack in Nigeria is Akwa Ibom State Carol Night, which took off in December 2008 with 9,300 choristers. By 2011, the choir presented 9,999 singers and in 2014, the Guinness Book of Records announced that with its 25,272 singers, the state’s choir had become the largest on earth.
Many across Africa and the global community have since made carol their special Christmas treat. Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine has also been organising Ovation Christmas Carol and Awards, (formerly Red Carol) which features musical performances, drama and awards, these past eight years. For 12 years now, Rhythm 93.7 FM Radio in Lagos has been holding its Rhythm Unplugged show, a fusion of comedy and music.
Considering the manner in which its organisers demonstrate commitment to a cause and the enthusiasm of the people towards the event, Rivers State carol show promises to become one Yuletide event to reckon with in the country within the next couple of years.
–Akpaekong is a public affairs analyst and publisher of Sippar magazine
