A Memorable Event That Was worth Attending — The Lagos Carnival 2012

I was invited to my second cousin's wedding by my aunt who lives in Surulere, Lagos. I attended the wedding ceremony and afterwards decided to spend some time at my aunt's place. This gave me an opportunity to familiarise myself with a new neighbourhood and it's environs and pay some of my relatives a visit. This was exactly what I did!

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I paid a visit to my cousins who lived at Mushin. We exchanged pleasantries and caught up on each other's progress. We engaged in conversations that involved several topics. These conversations led my cousins to invite me to an event that they planned to attend. It was the Lagos Carnival, organised by the Lagos State Government. The event was an effort made by the Lagos state government to revive the renowned Fanti Carnival. I recall attending the Fanti Carnival as a kid. It was extravagant like the carnivals that took place in Brazil and England. It was full of pomp and circumstance. Those thoughts brought back pleasant memories. Attending the Lagos Festival gave me an opportunity to relive those memories!

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I accepted my cousin's invitation and we attended the event together. The grand finale of the carnival was to take place at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan, Lagos. Our journey to the venue was exciting and fun. We got to see buses conveying participants in the carnival who were singing and dancing as they drove by. Other participants paraded the streets with their colourful costumes also singing and dancing. The roads leading to the venue were elaborately decorated. It was a beautiful sight to see!

We alighted from our vehicle and walked to the venue. The roads were congested as they were a lot of people trying to get into the venue. It dawned on me at that moment that this was a highly anticipated event as the turnout of people was high.

My cousins and I got into the venue and secured our seats in the stands. We watched the event with a lot of excitement as groups of participants entertained us with their choreography and parades. One of my cousin's later told me that Olamide, a popular rap artist, will be performing at the event. She was keen to see him perform live. I was also excited as I have not seen Olamide perform live. This was an avenue to witness it.

The event was an epitome of grandeur. Participants were beautifully dressed. Their choreography and parades were properly coordinated and executed. It was interesting to watch. The audience were also great as they sang and cheered the participants. I was surprised that the momentum of the activities of the carnival was sustained for a long period of time. The ambience was electrifying! There was no dull moment!

Everyone in attendance was having fun as the event went on. The audience went into a frenzy when Olamide came on stage to perform. Olamide performed most of his mainstream songs and the audience sang along. My cousin was ecstatic and sang at the top of her voice. It was the highlight of the carnival for us.

The state governor at the time, Babatunde Fashola later came on stage to give some remarks. He was satisfied with the outcome of the carnival and thanked everyone present for their participation. Winners of various contests held during the carnival were announced and rewarded with prizes. My cousins and I did not wait till the end of the carnival as it was getting late. We left the carnival feeling gratified as our expectations were met. We had a lot of fun! It was an entertaining event that was worth attending.

Have a splendid day folks.
Thanks for reading.

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