CARNIRIV

CARNIRIV is Africa’s largest carnival and Nigeria’s oldest carnival

CARNIRIV: THE PORT HARCOURT CARNIVAL is Africa’s largest carnival and Nigeria’s oldest carnival- this owing largely to the pre-extant CARNIRIV ’88 franchise. CARNIRIV ’88 in its time was a one-off and without the requisite support to ensure continuance the event slipped into obscurity.

In every way conceivable, CARNIRIV ’88 is the direct ancestor of CARNIRIV: THE PORT HARCOURT CARNIVAL. From 1988, through to 2008, the idea of staging a carnival with statewide participation morphed in a number of forms- most notably in the form of RIVIFEST- until the emergence of the current carnival. CARNIRIV: THE PORT HARCOURT CARNIVAL was construed and staged in 2008; and with it came the poignant allure to build a sturdy and ultimately attractive carnival brand.

The government of Rivers State recognizes CARNIRIV as its biggest tourism export. With economic interests increasingly identifying tourism as a viable alternative to the fossil fuel economy- especially in these parts- the state government has exhibited its commitment to developing this carnival into a regionally unrivalled and globally reckoned tourist attraction. By allying a sound and strategic ideology with empirical business models and just the right amount of private-sector participation, this objective is realizable.

Rivers State is known as the land of a thousand masquerades. With a fine variety of spoken tongues, numbering over 300, it is somewhat easy to discern the beauty in the diversity of its peoples. Very many civilizations, ancient and seemingly ageless as they are, quite simply draw attention to the richness and unspeakable eminence of the collective heritage of the Rivers people. Simply put, we are the microcosm of the macrocosm, a Nigeria (with all of its cultural and ethnic diversity) within Nigeria. This, to all intents and purposes, is at the core of the philosophy and guiding principle of CARNIRIV: THE PORT HARCOURT CARNIVAL.

Every edition of the carnival, since its inception, has brought citizens of the state and visitors alike out on to the streets of Port Harcourt in droves- just as it has implicitly, albeit spontaneously, concocted a micro-economy within and around attendant activities. CARNIRIV is good for the economy of Rivers State and of Nigeria, by extension; and with a future burning bright, the direct impact on the economy, in an entirely positive way, can only be fathomed with unbridled glee.

CARNIRIV: THE PORT HARCOURT CARNIVAL bears a certain uniqueness as it combines two carnivals- a purely cultural carnival and a contemporary Caribbean style carnival- in one. This gives it an edge over all other regional and continental carnivals, and presents with the principal advantage which must be consummately exploited