Following the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, indications have emerged that Nigerians, home and abroad, may not have the opportunity to witness local carnivals and festivals this year.
According to the stakeholders, the cultural alienation caused by the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) since March, when Nigeria recorded an index case, may lead to the cancellation of cultural carnivals and festivals staged during the ember-months.
Muydeen S’bair, a reveller of local carnivals, said the rising curve of the pandemic in Nigeria and the rest of Africa might not give room for complete ease of the lockdown to accommodate the staging of any carnival this year.
“What is carnival? What is culture? It is about the people, it is about coming together and it is about meeting old acquaintances and families. We may have to suffer this cultural alienation till 2021 when the COVID-19 spread is contained.
“It is unfortunate that the COVID-19 pandemic may have dealt a big blow to tourism and revitalization of the Nigerian culture at this period when western civilization has had a negative toll on the psyche of the younger generation.
“The risk is that arts and crafts, dances, rituals, and legends are at risk of being forgotten by the younger generation if they are not routinely staged,” he added.
Michael Balogun of Tour2nigeria Limited said for any carnival to hold it would require a lot of strategic planning and several factors put into consideration.
“Carnival has to do with people, movement and social interaction with different people coming from different parts of the country and international arrivals. Then the issue of social distancing comes to the front burner.
“How about crowd control; for me, I don’t think this year should be considered for such activities till this pandemic is contained.
“The question is: Are we free of this COVID-19 and the spread? Holding a carnival at this time might be a bit of a challenge. How do we go about crowd control? Social distancing as well as health and safety issues to mention a few?
“Nigeria is not ripe for a virtual carnival. It has to take some strategic steps to create awareness for people to plug into a virtual arrangement.
“You then need to think of the cost implications to the people in terms of data usage and also connectivity issues. There are some states in Nigeria with fair or no internet network strong enough for a virtual experience like that,” he argued.
Among major global events that had suffered cancellation due to ongoing coronavirus pandemic is the popular Notting Hill Carnival.
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About one million people usually attend the event in west London, which was scheduled to take place on August 30-31.
Organisers said the pandemic meant that calling off the weekend was “the only safe option”, but said they were working on celebrating on the same weekend in an alternative form.
This was the first time the event that normally attracted more than one million people to the streets of West London would not take place in more than 50 years.
The carnival, which had been held since 1966, was the latest in a string of summer calendar events to have been postponed, including the Glastonbury Festival and the Tokyo Olympics.
“This has not been an easy decision to make, but the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has unfolded means that this is the only safe option,” they said.
The board said plans for an alternative event were “still at the early stage of planning,” with more details to be released “soon”.
Emma Will, Kensington and Chelsea Council’s lead member for culture, leisure and community safety, said it was “absolutely the right decision given what the UK and London is currently facing.”
She said the council was “committed to giving logistical and financial support to turn alternative plans into reality” and there was “no reason why we cannot all bring the true spirit of Carnival into our front rooms”.
However, the organisers recently announced a digital alternative for the 2020 festival.
This year’s music and performances for the carnival were filmed over a month-long period, with Spotify to dedicate a microsite highlighting the importance of carnival culture in the UK later in August.
Matthew Phillip, Executive Director of Notting Hill Carnival, said: “Carnival is such an important part of people’s lives and key celebration of the multiculturalism of the UK, and we have a responsibility to our community and pioneers to honour that.
He added: “We also have a responsibility to protect the black community and our elders by respecting social distancing and taking carnivals away from the streets for this year.”
