Candidly, the 2011 Lagos Carnival fell belowexpectations. Unlike the 2010 edition, the carnival was not better in terms of organisation and the personalities who attended it.The publicity was poor, the crowd scanty. The Tafawa Balewa Square, venue of the carnival, looked old and the rumpled costumes worn by the radiant bands on the parade looked unfit.It was clear from the beginning that the carnival might suffer needed attention due to campaign activities towards the April general election. Little was heard about it as the polls and the subsequent jubilations trailing the election results stole the show.With the theme, Bright and Beautiful, the show started early but mildly as spectators and food vendors strolled into the venue to take positions. The atmosphere was energised with music, which propelled the various parade groups into the arena.In spite of the scanty crowd, the junior groups, which comprised pupils from the six educational districts of the state matched out in colours and danced to gain the attention of the reluctant spectators.But the spectators were not moved by the costumes even while the music manager dexterously took control of the situation by changing the steps of the dancers and the bands intermittently.Perhaps the various bands had refused to lighten up the arena as they did last year because they had noticed that the parade would not be competitive. Unlike in 2010, where the organisers picked a beauty pageant and junior carnival queen among the adult and junior bands, it was not so this year.It will be recalled that several weeks before the 2010 Lagos carnival, billboards bearing images of models in colourful costumes dotted the Lagos streets. And as the day drew closer, Lagos residents started to see larger images planted in strategic corners of the city while the TBS venue was branded with various adverts funded by corporate organisations.However, the 2011 carnival did not enjoy such publicity, instead, the streets of Lagos were dotted with posters of politicians, while the TBS square was left unkept with no single branding.After participating in a well organised canival year, Lagos residents were expecting a better one this year, but were highly disappointed by the performance.According to one of the spectators, Miss Monsurat Alli, this years carnival is not well organised. She said, I did not know that such a thing was going on inside TBS. I did not plan to be here. I was going to see a friend who just gave birth to a baby. When I got to the motor park, I observed that most commercial buses refused to ply TBS area. Through my inquisition, I learnt that a carnival was going on so I decided to come here.However, Alli expressed her displeasure saying, the costumes used by performers were unattractive compared to the 2010 designs. I think they should improve on the costumes. These garments are not impressive I must say.In his comment, another spectator, Rotimi Boluwaji, said that TBS wore a new look last year because of the carnival but that the organisers had failed this year with the ugly look of the venue.Though the costumes are beautiful but the environment is ugly. The things we see around are posters of politicians, he said.Boluwaji confessed that he learnt about the carnival about three weeks before the event and had been looking forward to the day but said he was disappointed with the organisation.I was here last year. It was a great experience to see beautiful ladies in those costumes they displayed but it seems that they are shy today. I dont know what has happened to them, he said.Asked if her band went through any rehearsal before the carnival, one of the participants, Miss Yemisi Toro from Agege area of the state, answered in the affirmative but lamented that most of her colleagues knew little about the event.As she puts it, Some of the members of my band came very late to join us. We have to accommodate them because many of those who participated with us last year refused to show up this year. We needed at least 20 participants to form a band but we could not meet up. That was why we accommodated those who did not train with us, just to make up for the required number.Speaking about the costumes, Toro said that it was given to the band by the state government, saying We are not very lucky to get very beautiful costumes like the others. The type of costumes, at times, can increase ones confidence to perform in the public but we were not very lucky with the type of costume we got.Despite his optimism that the 2011 carnival would be bigger and better, the Chairman Organising Committee, Mr. Disun Holloway refused to comment on the outcome when Nigerian Tribune asked for his comments.However, in a chat with a soft sell magazine, Waka chat, before the carnival, Holloway had said that three designers created about 82 costumes that were used last year but that the number of the designers was increased so that better designed costumes could be showcased this year.In his remarks, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, who was present with his wife, Abimbola, and his deputy, Princess Sarah Adebisi-Sosan, said that it was part of the benefits of the mandate given to him by the people that brought about the organisation of the carnival.He said that all the costumes were made in Lagos, describing it as a proof of the people-oriented programmes of the present administration to give jobs to Lagos residents.He said, With the successful organisation of the festival, Lagos State has taken a leadership position in many ways, improving the image of the state. The administration will use the carnival to expand the economic sector towards providing more jobs for the people.
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