By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
Former Minister of Culture and Tourism and leader of of the winning band in the just concluded Carnival Calabar, Calavegas Band, High Chief Edem Duke, has celebrated the band’s victory, with members attributing the victory to members’ commitment to the task and their creative ability to interprete roles and carnival theme.
Speaking at the get-together ceremony, which took place at former Mirage Hotel, MCC Road Calabar, where high Chief Edem played host to other carnival competing bands yesterday, Chief Duke said that the only secret that has kept the band waxing stronger and remaining on top of their game in the last two years, which had seen Calavegas winning was their total commitment to the rules of the game, leading to the band members bringing to the fore their God given talents.
Chief Eden said, “There’s no secret to this, other than commiting ourselves to the very best of creative potential and utilization of personnel.
“Interpretation of the film and the general aggregation of all the inherent talents within the band in order to compete favourably with other bands and ensure that what we are presenting is first amongst equals and ultimately judged to be the best.”
Giving an insight into the philosophy behind Calavegas Band, the former minister stressed that Calavegas is just like any other band, except for the fact that the band is being led by one of Africa’s foremost performing artist and someone who had been lucky enough to have played at a very high level in terms of communication and marketing.
The former minister stated that the combination of talents with the willingness to be tutored, to choreograph and then to understand the content of the spirit of the season assisted the band to stay on top of the game, manifesting as the best brand in the contest.
He enthused further, “We must just keep the spirit of the carnival alive, winning is just an extra thing, but the collaboration, and intensiveness of performance and creativity, the entire dynamics is something that we will continue to sustain.”
For sustainability of victory, Edem averred that management of Calavegas Band has concluded arrangement to launch the band in the Central and Northern senatorial districts of Cross River State to harvest talents to make the band more formidable so that it can remain on top of its game.
At the victory party were the leader of Seagull Band, Senator Florence Ita Giwa, the Cross River State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Abubakar Ewa, another stakeholder in the state tourism sector, Mr. Austin Cobham, among several others.
