By Musa Yaro (Calabar)
The 2022 Calabar Carnival, which over the years was christened as the biggest street party in Africa, has been described as the worst organized since its inception 18 years ago.
A cross-section of people who spoke with ASHENEWS criticized the organization, structure, and styles introduced by the government and organizers, maintaining that it was an event unpreparedly organized by the government.
A stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Calabar Municipality spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity at the Rabanna roundabout, blaming the authorities for “inadequate security checks as well as crowd control lapses,” which he alleged, led to the death of about seven persons, including a pregnant woman and 29 others who suffered various degrees of injuries during the previous day bikers parade car ram on spectators at the Bogobiri axis.
Forty-four-year-old Mrs. Susanna Amaigwe attended the event from Abuja said “it is a shock that a yearly event of this magnitude can be organized this way as if the state was not prepared for it. Why should painters battle to paint street pavement, hours before the commencement of the acclaimed largest street party in Africa?
ASHENEWS reports that the inadequate lighting systems to illuminate carnival adjudication points as well as the absence of street lights on the Carnival routes, drew the ire of some youths who sat grumbling in utter darkness along the 14km routes, while touts and street robbers had a filled day as they snatched phones and bags from unsuspecting victims.
“I am so ashamed to be a Cross Riverian today. Calabar Darkness Carnival. What do I tell my Abuja friends who have visited for the Carnival?” The Technical Assistant to Vice president Yemi Osinbajo, Mr. Philip Obin posted on his Facebook page, apparently vexed by the poor organization of the 2022 Carnival, themed, “Agro Industrialization.”
The Calabar Carnival was initiated by the administration of former governor Donald Duke but has not been observed in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
