If arrangement and fillers from the organizers of Nigeria first Ibani beach carnival in Bonny, River State is any to go by, the popular Calabar carnival may be a child’s play.
It was gathered that preparation for the carnival which is billed to take place during the yuletide season had been on the last 10 months.
According to the initiator of the carnival , Ambassador Larry Tamunotonye Allison, told Leadership that beside exposing the rich culture of the Bonny people to the rest of the World noted that it would also jump start local economy of the people and the state.
According to the Initiator: “Ibani Beach Carnival is an event I had conceptualized over the years and it has to do with the culture of bonny Kingdom. The Kingdom has variety of culture and tradition and that is what I want to sell to the world to project our rich cultural heritage tbecause we have it in abundance”.
“Over the years, bonny have been kept behind the scene, people don’t know where it is. People need to know what the Kingdom has to offer to the world not just the name.We have spent some millions in the last 3 months even though thus the dream have been on in the last 10 months , we have put a lot of things in place,
“We are in collaboration with the federal ministry of arts and culture. NigeriaToursim Development Corporation, NTDC, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Ministry of Petroleum and other government agencies. We are waiting for their responses.
In the same vein, th Event Coordinator, Charles Ndudim, said the carnival would also offers opportunity for visitors to experience the Oceanic beauty of Bonny Island
“There is abundant of beauty in Bonny, with blue sea, white sand and lots of oceanic beauty that you find in Caribbean countries are there in Bonny.
“Our ultimate goal is to develop these resources and that is why we are starting with a carnival , we dont have to travel outside the shores of this Country to visit other island, we are starting with the carnival as a key tourism driver”.
“It is geared towards launching bonny as a tourism destination in Nigeria. It is the first real beach carnival in the Country with variety of activities lined up, which include Beach soccer, comedy, music and cultural dance, He added.