Platinum X Art and Media Limited, Project Tour Initiative, in partnership with the Social Development Secretariat (Federal Capital Territory Administration have unveiled the Abuja iBELIEVE Carnival.
While unveiling the maiden edition of the carnival, today, September 26, 2023, the Chief Executive of the Carnival and Convener, Efe Tariah, noted the significance of the event as one that institutionalizes the social and economic values of Nigeria through special experiences, spanning different niche programs.
He opined that the Carnival will cover 4 days of colourful activities , from arts and crafts exhibition, gastronomy and cuisine display, fashion parade, music, dance and Drumming shows. The event will showcase made in Nigeria products and a business investment summit for young entrepreneurs.
The event which is schedule to hold December 11 to 15 will attract tourists, visitors, industry players, stakeholders and the sundry experts from across Nigeria to Abuja. It’s main selling preposition is the ‘community involvement strategy’ it is seeking deploy, with a view of drawing local participation, partnership buy-in , community involvement and wider engagement.
“It is an event that would celebrate our rich cultural history and to display the brilliant talents that our wonderful nation, Nigeria, possesses. Its major goal is to bring a fresh ray of hope to Nigerians by presenting our great tourism and entertainment industries while building togetherness, pride, and patriotism,” Tariah said.
He also emphasized on the fact that the carnival was not going to be a one-time event and plans were being made to ensure the annual continuation of this event.
Supporting the carnival, Mr. Kayode Aiyegbusi, the acting Director, Social Development Secretariat, FCTA said the Administration of the Territory is partnering with the organizers because it believes in the idea; the richness of the program and the values its presence.
He said the need to promote and encourage visitors to come to Abuja for their meetings, programs, and holidays can only be achieved through a sustained tourism calendar that has a lot of rich creative cultural content – which is key to the economic development of the territory, therefore, initiators of similar programs are welcome to partner with the Administration.
“FCTA Arts and Culture department is ready to provide awesome entertainment, for families, individuals, corporate organizations and visitors and the carnival serves as a highlight for such promotion, while creating an atmosphere that encourages social development and well being,”Aiyegbusi said.
Ambassador Ngozi Onyeche, the director of Buy Nigeria Project emphasized the reason her organization is partnering with Project Tour Initiative was because of the richness and direct benefit of the platform to MSMEs. She challenge every Nigerian who could make any product to come and partake in the event in order to showcase Nigerian made products and showcase what they could do as there was going to be a lot of opportunities and investors from various counties.
In similar vein, the FCT President of Performing Musician Asociation of Nigeri (PMAN), Sidney emphasized the importance of the involvement of artistes in and around Abuja to make the event richer. He said the association is ready to partner with the organizers but that the interest of Abuja artistes must be protected in the carnival. The president of Entertainment Association practitioners in Abuja, Agility Onwura, also expressed his association’s willingness to partner, stating that the carnival need a lot of energetic musical activities to increase the richness of its content.
Given the importance of security to the success of the event, the head of the carnival’s security, Mr Joseph Sotomi, assured residence and participants of their safety as no stone will be left unturned to achieve that.
He said the organisers have put all necessary measures in place to ensure everyone was safe, and the security surveillance would be handled in partnership with relevant government security agencies..
