THE ‘PANTLESS WAIST’ OF THE CALABAR GIRL 1

Calabar Carnival street (dry-run) party scene, 2014

Well, for those who may not have been privileged to witness the Calabar Carnival, here is a tip of the ice for you.

The Calabar Carnival is an annual event which lasts for 31days-1^st December to 31^st December. But the street party, which accounts for my concern for writing this piece, comes up on 27^th day of December. It is usually a ‘bomb’ of an event. For those that find themselves in Calabar on that day it is usually ‘’all roads lead to Carnival’’. Do you mind to stay back at home? Silence, boredom, loneliness will threaten you because your neighbours, kids and kins would have leaped through the short-cuts to the streets where ‘it is happening’.

Mothers, daughters, fathers, sons; uncles and aunties; lovers and haters roam the streets whenever Calabar Carnival street party comes calling.

Sleeves go up. Zips go down. Kids, girls especially, make request for new outfits which will showcase the ‘natural things’ that the carnival people want to see. They say it is for 18-plus but...“mummy I want to go to Carnival”, cries the teething teen. That is Calabar Carnival for you.

There are different bands that participate in the street party. There is the Master Blaster Band, Freedom Band, Bayside Band and Seagul Band. At the end of the day, which ever band that wins the contest, goes home with some gifts; courtesy of the Cross River State Government.

Calabar Carnival was introduced by Gov. Donald Duke in the year 2004, as a way to liven-up the tourism potentials of the state. Good and fine, that was an objective philosophy and plan a Governor could have for his people.

But very few people are conscious of the moral challenge the street party portends. Very few people are conscious of the wanton nudity, carnality and sexuality which the street party conspicuously displays each day it comes.

I witnessed ‘dry run’ segment of the street party last Sunday. For those who do not know, ‘dry run’ is a rehearsal for the street party. It starts from last Sunday of November and holds every Sunday till the D-day, 27^th December. Any morally-tuned Nigerian would shudder at the sight of what I saw. You may ask, ‘what took you there? Well, I was doing an investigation...

They said participation at the street party was exclusively for 18 years and above. But at the dry-run, I saw girls whose chin, scapular and ankle bones look so sixteen.

Girls were more in number, with skimpy tights and bumb shorts, showcasing the physical ornaments that rocked romantically as everyone beheld them with admiration and dearness.

So much as it has become, the Carnival street party is sending negative signals to Calabar youths. It simply defines social outing as an event which challenges girls to go topless, pant-less and the boys to go in highness. It features a rapid quest for something that lurks for lust and sexuality. It ravages the moral consciences of the youths and makes to me start thinking that Calabar is one place not to train up a child.

At the Carnival, girls are adlib to tread the streets pant-less, topless and sleeveless. Take a look at the picture attached to this article. One girl can be spotted in that picture. The girl who I know may court your attraction was the red-eye of the day. All eyes were on her. To her and other proponents of carnality, she was the ‘hottest’ babe on the street. She was shamelessly rocking her waste and letting everyone know she had no pants. Yes, she had no pants indeed. She was pant-less, pant-less Calabar girl. She only drew the lower seems of the elastic top to cover her waist. Pretence. Was the waist really covered?  Your guess is as good as mine.

When she was gone, I wondered if she had a mother. Where was the mother? Does she have a boy friend or fiancée or both? Where were they? Did they see her dress like this? Does she have friends? Where were her friends when she was matching out with this outfit?

She was among the camp of the Freedom Band. Well, well, well, I can see freedom indeed. Freedom to seduce. Freedom of dressing. Freedom to be nude and go pant-less on the streets of Calabar.

Think of it this way. Carnival is expected to showcase the moral and social vitalities of a nation, a people and a society. It moulds the conception of outsiders and visitors about a society. With the way things are done, Calabar Carnival is showcasing nudity and amorality. It is creating a conception that Calabar is a place where men can easily go and hook-up with ready-to-go hips and rock all day and all night. It is creating a conception that Calabar is guideless in terms of moral sanity. Is that what Calbar really is? That is actually the conception Carnival street party is creating about Calabar.

The Cross River State Government has task to quickly perform before it is too late. The government should quickly introduce a dress code for carnival street party. If the management of University of Calabar can enforce a dress code for undergraduates, I think Carnival participants should be dress-coded too. It is just a matter of policy. But I think before that should happen, it takes a leader who has identified the trending oddities in today’s Calabar Carnival street party.

EMMANUEL SHEBBS