THOUSAND of gaily dressed and excited children on Monday paraded the streets of Calabar marking the grand finale of the Dangote Group-sponsored Calabar Children Carnival. The carnival train involved several groups of children of different ages who paraded the four-kilometre distance from the Botanical Garden located near the Mary Slessor Roundabout through the IBB Highway and terminated at the Esuene Stadium.Different bands that participated in the final parade included Bayside band, Freedom band, Masta Blasta band, Seagull band, Passion 4 and Army Children's band.Preparatory to the Carnival parade, thousands of children attired in different and creatively designed costumes assembled at the Calabar Botanical Garden for final rehearsal. While at the Garden, which was fully branded with Dangote banners, the children were served thousands of packs of cooked Dangote Noodlesn which had established a kitchen in the Carnival Village from where over 5000 plates of noodles from its stable were prepared and served to the children and their handlers.Dansa Foods, a subsidiary of Dangote Group, also established various serving points along the dry-run route where participating children were served portions of various products from the company. Reinvigorated with the drinks, the children danced and marched with renewed strength to the terminating point at the Esuene stadium.Dansa Foods was at hand in the stadium serving thousands of Mowa bottled water and its range of fruit juice products to the crowd of young ones. Visibly elated at the level of support from Dangote Group, the band leaders acknowledged the firm's sponsorship of 2011 Children Carnival Calabar. Austin Cobhom, leader of Bayside band described Dangote sponsorship of 2011 Children Carnival Calabar as unprecedented.According to him, with the sponsorship, the refreshment needed by the bands was supplied for free.For the Seagull Band led by Affiong Effiom, the sponsorship is a demonstration of Dangote Group's strong commitment to support the Nigerian child. According to him, the Dangote has given the Nigerianchild an avenue to express his talents.Executive Secretary, Cross River State Carnival Commission, Mrs. Elenda Osima-Dokubo, was full of praise for the support from Dangote Group. She said the commission was elated at the level of support and described the group as a worthy partner towards helping children discover their talents. According to her, the group in providing all the refreshments for both the dry run and Children carnival proper has shown its interest in the welfare of the Nigerian child.Dangote Group's sponsorship of the Calabar Children Carnival, which held on December 26, 2011, was borne out of the need to promote the development of the Nigerian child as well as provide him with a means of expressing his creativity, according to Tony Chiejina, the group's spokesman.General Manager, Marketing, Tourism Bureau, Cross River State, Charles Uwa Omoregha,commended all the sponsors of Calabar Carnival 2011, especially Dangote Group for identifying with the project.He urged other corporate bodies to take a cue from the Group in promoting the nation's abundant cultural, natural and human resources via sponsorship of projects like Calabar Carnival.CALABAR Carnival started in 2004, when the then governor, Mr. Donald Duke, evolved a vision of making his state the hub for tourism and hospitality both in Nigeria and Africa.
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