How To Generate Revenue Through Cultural Festivals In Cross River State – Prince Abi

It is of great importance that we begin to promote the culture and tradition of our people. As a state, we must begin to write our history, our cultural values, and the heritage of our people. The government must help promote the core cultures and languages in the state for them to be known in not just Africa but the world at large.

It is only when we promote our culture that the world would be attracted to us as a people.

Our languages should be promoted. It is very unfortunate that children no longer know how to communicate in our local dialects. We must inculcate the habit of teaching our culture to kids and also promoting it in any way we can.

Cross River State has so much untapped potentials. We have cultures that have not been explored or heard about. The time is now to begin to explore avenues by generating wealth through our culture and tradition.

It is a known fact across the globe that festivals are great revenue spinners. I give you an example of the Nothing Hill Carnival, the Emancipation Day in Trinidad and Tobago, the Rio de Janeiro Carnival and even our own Carnival Calabar. These are examples of great revenue spinners. We can expand the Leboku Festival for people across the globe to come, attend and invest. By properly giving the festival the right publicity, packaging, media attention and also transforming the festival to a world class festival that wouldd generate huge money for the government of Cross River State and in  turn affect the lives of the people of the region positively by way of selling their products during the festival.

You go down to the northern part of the state we can create another festival by way of introducing a carnival there. Same thing is applicable to the southern senatorial district,  by showcasing the Efik culture to the world.

Aside the popular Calabar Carnival we can have at least three major events all year round. The government must take it as point of duty through the Carnival Commission to organize more events that would spin more money for the state through trourism .

It should be known that tourism through festivals and the promoting of the culture of our people can change the economic fortunes of our state and that of our people.

Books and and seminars on the various cultures of the Cross River People should be written and propagated across the nations of the world. This would help bring more tourist and investors to the state. It would not only encourage massive investment but it would enhance the growth of our tourism sector just like many Caribbean nations that depend solely on tourism as a source of revenue.