The Goldmine in Calabar Carnival

Chinedu Eze

The now globally acknowledged Calabar Carnival, Africa’s biggest street party, has turned into a yearly goldmine for Cross River State, as the state projects that it will generate over N25 billion from this year’s carnival.

This is in addition to the creation of thousands of jobs and return on investment to the private sector that are committed to the month-long festival, year on year.

Last year, the festival generated about N19 billion socio-economic returns to the state and this year, with many more countries indicating interest to attend the party, N25 billion may be a conservative projection.

The carnival, which draws both domestic and international visitors, is expected to attract 700, 000 to one million visitors this year. The festival ranks among top global carnivals, attracting international diplomats, global media, corporate sponsors like banks, communication companies and major manufacturers of consumer goods.

At the carnival’s first dry run, THISDAY spoke with the Chairman, Calabar Carnival, Gabe Onah, who explained that the first dry run is first rehearsals, which involved testing the systems, engineering the routes and activating the routes.

“The dry run is an attempt to showcase an opportunity to be out there and it is a day out for the families. Just as we finished engaging the family there: father, mother, children, they were walking on the street. And it brings me to the theme of this year’s carnival:  Rethinking our Collective Destiny. We are one people, one humanity, with one love that conquers all. Of the three virtues of humanity that makes man great, love is the greatest they say,” Onah said.

Since its inception, the carnival has created jobs for youths, mothers, fathers and all who could contribute anything to the festivals. Cross River, known for its hospitality, easily adapted to providing accommodation to people from diverse backgrounds who come from different parts of the world.

The youth get engaged in designing and producing the costumes, exhibiting usual artistry in preparing the props, the insignia, the cavass and all other things needed for the carnival.

No state in Nigeria has ever created jobs for the teeming number of youths as Cross River does every year with the biggest street party in Africa.

The Chairman, Calabar Carnival explained, “Our highest number has been 52,000. Each band is at least 10,000 strong. But that is being filtered now as we moved since COVID-19. Most of the adjudicators you see there are professors in the universities. The University of Calabar alone this year, has over 15 graduates of Carnival Arts. They staged a live carnival float in the university, which I have experienced. We were called in as adjudicators and observers. The entire element of carnival was in display. And we gave them kudos.”

Onah also disclosed that different countries have been engaging with the Cross River State government because of the carnival. It was because of the large turnout of foreigners that prompted the organizers of the carnival to introduce Diaspora Band, which served as a massive, unified group bringing global participants together.

In 2025, there were many individual participants from overseas, including Nigerians in the Diaspora. Many countries were also represented and these include the United Kingdom, the United States; countries in the Caribbean, Europe and Middle East.

In fact, it was reported that the Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, confirmed that 71 international embassies applied for and indicated explicit interest in participating and sending foreign dignitaries to the 2025 celebrations. And more are expected to participate this year.

According to Onah, the Federal Ministry of Tourism is working with the organisers of this year’s carnival. “Additional three countries have offered to come because we are rejigging our international carnival component. We want the countries now to come and we will do hospitality.  You will see the result and I am happy that you are the first to observe the first dry run for the year,” Onah told THISDAY.

The Chairman of Calabar Carnival also said that the event has boosted tourism in the state. Cross River has one of the most serene environments in Nigeria. It has the famous Obudu Mountain Resort, Afi Mountains Wildlife Sanctuary, Cross River National Park, spectacular waterfalls and many more.

Onah said: “Incidentally, I was the pioneer special adviser on tourism in the state. My entry point was tourism. Carnival is a product of tourism. And if you are part of our Akwaaba family, the naija7wonders family, Carnival Calabar is rated as one of our most intangible tourism products in the country. Because it falls under the iconic tourism experience. Then how has it affected tourism? It is a pull factor. You see the number of people out of their homes. I talked to you about the family I interviewed. I saw them gathering and the little girl was dancing. They will buy sachet water and other things. So that is value chain and that is tourism. Then you talked about Cally Air (the state-owned airline operated by ValuJet), that is a business decision. Cally Air will improve the arrivals. For the coming season, they will increase their rotation to three times a day from November. Three daily flights.”

On how the festival has created and redistributed wealth, he said the carnival has the festival village that runs for 30 days.

“Working with Guinness we now have customized booths, which Guinness brings to play. So, it is a filled market. But you cannot quantify how much the common man, the sachet water seller, the mama-put seller earns on the route, not to talk of the organized vendor. Our informal sectors have benefitted more. We are now moving to the formal sector so that we as government will begin to benefit, now that we are going digital. According to him, the Cross River State Carnival Commission is partnering Nugi Technologies to build digital infrastructure, including online registration, global streaming, online voting dashboards, and membership apps.

“We can vote through the telephones, through the platform.  Through the app you can register to be band members, register to buy apparels, t-shirts, engage in merchandising. This is in appreciation of the intellectual property that goes in here and to scale up through this innovative tech. Furthermore, the tech is giving the spectators an opportunity to partake in this. How do you become part of it, the immersive part of it?  The professors, the archaeologists, the historians, are judging the carnival on the elements of theatre, which you and I know.

In terms challenges, Onah said the challenges remained the buy-in of the private sector.

“The private sector must come in with their entrepreneurial skills and take over. Government has done everything to provide the enabling environment. The socio-economic impact is good, you can see the buying and selling on the 12 kilometre route,” he said.

One of the greatest tourism products of Nigeria is the Calabar Carnival. It is the offspring of visionary political leadership, sustained by succeeding state governments that partake in the vision. Currently, the product has gone international and has become a great Nigerian tourist ambassador.