Since its introduction a couple of years back and subsequent re-organization by Governor Ben Ayade to add to the tourism experience the teeming population of tourists visiting the state during the yelutide as spearheaded by the current commissioner, the Calabar Art Craft Cultural Village is dedicated to promote, foster and propagate cultural tolerance, promote national integration and unity while showcasing the vast cultural heritage of the tourism clusters of the state, including the state’s carnival potentials.
To effectively achieve these targets, a 31-day annual cultural and traditional exhibition concert has been put together by Governor Ben Ayade through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Development to showcase the rich socio-cultural opportunities of the state from December 1 to 31st.
The Event is set up such that each of the 18 LGAs of the state, together with some foreign nationalities and the academia, have stands, where their socio cultural heritages are showcased at a point of exchange without visitors having to travel to those areas in search of their natural products and cuisines as the case may be. The village also offers academic institutions and other sub nationalities of African extraction a plethora of choices to exhibit their artifacts through culture, agriculture and products made of local craft from the villages and memorabilias, artworks and other carnival regalias.
For instance, the Cross River University of Technology, CRUTECH owns a stand displaying a collection of Visual Arts and artifacts where exhibition works produced by students of the institution are put up for sale.
Speaking about the development, Commissioner for Culture & Tourism Development, Hon. Eric Anderson, explained that the site is consciously made to serve as a point of exchange that is meant to take advantage of the rich socio-cultural heritage of the state amongst ethnic nationalities and also to encourage education tourism to the state, information passage to the younger generation and also serve as a platform where people can get to try out options from other tribes and ethnic backgrounds.
As a veteran movie maker with a background in tourism development, the idea, according to the Commissioner is to reposition the state on the world’s map by showcasing its numerous cultural products which span across tourist sites, local cuisines, traditional regalia, arts and crafts, monolithic stories, natural scenery, special festivities, and content development from major experiences, especially with Cross River having the most languages and culture in the south-south and even old Eastern region of Nigeria in addition to promotional marketing of our untapped resources and rebuilding a lasting peace amongst ethnic minorities and people of the young age bracket.
With Cross River serving as a historical warehouse of some of the best cultural heritages (such as the longest serving Monarch coming from the State), the Leboku Cultural Festival, the Northfest, the regality associated with the Stool of the Obong of Calabar, the Calabar Carnival with the longest route in the world spanning 12 Kilometers, and using the film industry to promote culture as a tool for a continued peaceful co-existence of the people.
To ensure progressive sustainability by successive administrations, the state Governor has granted the approval of the area as a permanent site for an art and craft exhibition village, which according to the Commissioner, promises to be an all-year-round exhibition centre.
©Eugene Upah is the Snr Special Assistant on Public Communications to Cross River Governor Ben Ayade.
info@eugene-ssapc.com.ng
