By Austine LordLaz
The 2025 edition of Carnival Calabar, which marked the 20th anniversary of the festival, has come and gone, leaving behind lasting impressions and wide reverberations in the minds of participants, spectators, and cultural observers alike.
Understandably, the organizers and the government made conscious and deliberate efforts to ensure that this milestone edition would be memorable. From the glittering streets and reinvented hype music performances to the heightened levels of artistic expression, the festival reflected a clear commitment to growth, spectacle, and cultural excellence.
Notable improvements were also recorded in structural and logistical planning. These included the expansion of adjudication points, improved media placements, and enhanced sightlines for spectators measures clearly designed to promote fairness, visibility, and a more immersive carnival experience. Established rules on road blockades and traffic control further reinforced the intention to create a seamless, hitch-free environment and a level playing field for all competing carnival bands.
Against this backdrop of thoughtful planning and clear regulations, it is therefore disheartening and deeply disappointing that those entrusted with enforcing these rules would become the very agents of their violation.The Freedom Carnival Band’s performance at the Mobil adjudication point was brazenly and abruptly interrupted by overzealous government fore-runners who stormed into an ongoing presentation, tearing through a dense sea of revellers and performers. While it is understandable that these officials were acting in the service of government and escorting an entourage of over thirty-two vehicles for Their Excellencies, the manner in which the interruption was executed was unnecessarily chaotic and disruptive.
There were far more civil, professional, and logistically sound ways to reroute the convoy without destabilizing an active performance. Instead, the performance space was rudely breached, accompanied by shouts such as “the owner of the carnival is passing,” a statement that not only undermined the spirit of the carnival but also disregarded the integrity of the artistic process unfolding at that moment.
A dramatic or carnival performance, especially at its climactic peak, is fragile and fleeting. Once interrupted, it can rarely be pieced back together with the same emotional intensity or narrative continuity. This was precisely the case here. For over Twenty minutes, the performance remained stalled. The crowd stood visibly cowed, their faces etched with displeasure and disappointment, as they watched in bitterness a presentation that had carried their emotions to great heights abruptly cut short.
Worsening the situation, other vehicles took advantage of the Governor’s entourage to force their way through the performance route, compounding the disruption. Revellers became disoriented, performers could not realign, and carnival floats stood in visible disharmony. What should have been a cohesive visual and emotional experience degenerated into disorder.
The effects of this interruption were multifaceted and far-reaching, impacting the entire production. Like theatre, the carnival experience is a shared, immersive journey that relies heavily on continuity and the “suspension of disbelief.” The intrusion of the government entourage shattered this illusion, forcibly pulling both performers and audience out of the performative world that had been carefully constructed.
The performers themselves lost momentum and energy. Many were reduced to sitting or lying on the floor, waiting endlessly for clearance to resume. The emotional and physical rhythm essential to such performances was irreparably disrupted.
For the adjudicators, the interruption further complicated an already delicate evaluation process. How does one fairly assess a performance that has been forcibly halted at its peak? Should judges evaluate based on what was presented before the interruption, or attempt to judge a resumed performance that could no longer carry the same intensity or coherence? Inevitably, the interruption risked introducing unintended bias, potentially disadvantaging the performers through no fault of their own.
Altogether, this incident raises serious questions about the thought process and logistical planning of the handlers of His Excellency during the carnival. Given prior knowledge of the scale of the event characterized by dense crowds, elaborate props, and active performances would it not have been more sensible, from both a protocol and safety standpoint, to deploy an alternative route outside the active carnival corridor? If the use of the carnival route was unavoidable, then where was the effective communication and timing required to ensure that the convoy passed only when no band was actively performing?
Carnival is a celebration of culture, creativity, and collective experience. Any form of protocol enforcement that undermines these values not only disrupts performances but also diminishes the integrity and global perception of the event itself.
*Film and Theatre director Austine LordLaz, writes from Calabar
