The ongoing Calabar Carnival has continued to draw the condemnation of many in face of the tragedy that took the lives of eight spectators, Ada Wodu reports
The Calabar carnival’s return after a two-year hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic was on Tuesday bedevilled by a tragic crash that claimed the lives of eight spectators and injured no fewer than 29 persons.
Despite the harrowing episodes that threw families into mourning on the fifth day of the mammoth carnival, the accident which occurred while the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, alongside other dignitaries was seated, made the event experience an abrupt ending.
However, against the traumatising experiences of aggrieved families who are still in shock over the irreparable deaths of their loved ones, the carnival themed “Agro-industrialisation” continued with the daughter of President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), Zara; former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sherrif, among other dignitaries, officially opening the colourful ceremony on Wednesday.
Calabar Carnival tragedy
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the accident which claimed the lives of eight persons and injured 29 others occurred during the bikers’ parade, an integral part of the annual Calabar carnival.
The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, Cross River, Maikano Hassan, confirmed the incident to NAN, adding that the crash occurred when the driver of a Camry car lost control, breached the barricade and rammed into the crowd of spectators enjoying the parade at the front of the Jumat mosque in Bogobiri.
The impact of the crash reportedly killed seven persons on the spot, while 29 others who sustained varying degrees of injury, were rushed to the Naval Hospital and the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital for medical attention.
The injured victims were said to have comprised 21 male adults, three women, two male children and three female children, one of whom died while receiving treatment in the hospital.
“We went round the hospital where the injured victims were being treated to discover that one additional death had been recorded. We are also pleased to say that some of those injured in the incident had been discharged, while others were responding well to treatment,’’ NAN quoted Hassan to have said.
Injured victims’ visit
Following the accident, the Commissioner of Police, Sule Balarabe, detailed policemen to the scene of the incident and every 50 metres along the 12-kilometre carnival route to avert further tragedy.
Policemen were seen at Mary Slessor Avenue, Marian road, MCC and Murtala Muhammad Highway.
Meanwhile, before the flagging off of the carnival on Wednesday, the state governor visited the Navy Reference Hospital, Calabar, to empathise with victims of the tragic incident and paid their hospital bills.
Speaking at the Navy Hospital, Ayade described the crash as a sad learning curve that would never be allowed to happen again.
“We are here at the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital Calabar to show the government’s concern for victims of the bikers’ parade car accident. We are here to take the bills and show compassion. What happened was a learning curve, it speaks to the fact that all road barricades for the carnival must be respected.
“This is the first time we have had an incident of this nature and I can assure you that it won’t happen again. With all sense of grief, with all sense of melancholy, we submit to the will of God,” the governor said.
Ayade also visited the scene of the crash to commiserate with the Hausa/Fulani community led by Seriki Garuba Lawan.
Also, the governor, while condoling with the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic incident, promised to bring the driver, who also sustained an injury in the crash and was said to be receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital, to book.
The official opening
However, Ayade, who spoke during the official opening of the ceremony a day after the tragic incident, said the carnival was Africa’s flagship tourism event.
He said the presence of the daughter of the President and his friend, Ali Modu Sheriff, among others, showed that Nigeria is united.
Ayade said, “Today is the day we are flagging off the Carnival Calabar, the main carnival proper. This carnival is Africa’s flagship tourism event. I like to welcome everybody who has come here for this ceremony. It is significant because this is my last outing; significant because the President has said he identifies with Cross River State.
“The theme of this year’s carnival is agro-industrialisation and what I am saying is, why take a tuber of cassava and process it into garri to make N1,000 only when someone else takes the same tuber of cassava and processes it into pharmaceutical starch and makes $10,000?
“What I am simply saying is that the time has come when Africans must put an end to this primitive way of processing agro-products. The true value of any raw material is when it is processed and that means the value addition taking it to its end product.”
Ayade said Africa could no longer continue to be a hub for the export of raw materials, adding that the continent should start processing its raw materials into finished products and export them to Europe and America.
“That is the core message of this theme. So, what we are expecting to see today is the interpretation of the theme during the float as we watch the revellers on the path.
“We will be looking at the storyline through the dance and procession on the interpretation of the theme Agro-industrialisation, and that is the concept,” he stressed.
Ayade’s action insensitive
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party condemned Ayade’s decision to continue with the activities lined up for the annual Calabar Carnival after the death of eight persons during the accident.
The Chairman of the party in the state, Venatius Ikem, in a statement on Wednesday, described Ayade’s decision as a “singular action tantamount to rubbing salt on injuries,” adding that the governor’s action was insensitive to the mood and plight of the people.
Ikem said, “Indeed, we have been vindicated in our rating of Ayade’s government as inhuman, uncouth and unperturbed by the sufferings of the masses.
“It is unthinkable that a leader can proceed to a jamboree where he was seen beaming with smiles and cheering Miss Africa Beauty Pageant contestants after the bloody incident which claimed lives just a couple of hours apart.”
According to NAN, Ikem said the disaster could have been avoided if standard best practices were applicable during the event, especially with regard to crowd and vehicular traffic control as well as the physiological state of the participants.
Meanwhile, the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Sen. Sandy Onor, condoled with the families of those who lost their loved ones in the accident.
