Diplomats across Africa and stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry on Saturday converged on the La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort in Lagos State to declare the maiden edition of ‘Ipada Carnival’ open.

 Ipada Carnival is a cultural celebration honouring the return of people of African descent and lovers of the culture to their roots.

The carnival is holding from November 29 to December 8.

The nine-day carnival began in an electrifying atmosphere where the Brazilian Descendants donned in their colourful carnival attire performed to the excitement of revellers.

 The carnival showcased the rich cultural heritage of Africans featuring a diverse range of activities, including traditional music and dance performances, elaborate costumes, and mouth-watering local cuisines.

 Revellers were treated to a dazzling display of colour and energy. The air was filled with the sound of drums and laughter, as participants and spectators alike immersed themselves in the joy and excitement of the occasion.

Convener of Ipada Carnival and Chief Executive Officer of La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort, Wanle Akinboboye said the carnival was a form of enticement for Africans in the diaspora to retrace their roots.

 Mr Akinboboye said the essence of this was to enable them contribute significantly to the economic development of Africa.

 “Today is all about the Ipada Carnival, the concept is all about bringing back people of African descent back to their roots.

“We have 32 million diasporans in the Caribbean, 66 million in the United States of America, 120 million in Brazil, about 9.6 million in Europe. We need to entice them back to come and add value to the entire continent of Africa. You know no country can develop without the diasporans. So, Ipada is basically presenting the entire continent of Africa in a basket. We are creating an African shopping mall. The idea is to enable the diasporans to visit all the countries in the continent.

 “There are 55 African countries. So, we’re not only selling Nigeria, we’re also saying that the diasporans can come into the continent of Africa through Lagos, Abuja. And we created for those that felt that they had left on slave ships, we’ve created for them what we call ‘slave ships to cruise ships” so that they can land here in Lekki.

 “From Lekki they can go to our airport in Lagos and then fly to any part of Africa they want to fly to. So, basically we’re putting the entire continent of Africa in one basket,” he said.

 He said that a large number of Africans in the diaspora had been able to retrace their steps already.

He stated, “This is just a celebration. This is the Ipada Carnival but we have the Ipada Initiative that happens on a daily basis. Over 40 African-American mayors have been brought back, a platform has also been established to assist them to come to Africa, about 300 are coming next week, we have about 500 coming back in February and more.’’ 

Earlier, The Rwandan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Christophe Bazivamo, lauded the Ipada Carnival and initiative.

 He said that the country looked forward to engaging the service of a DNA expert to help in identifying Rwandans in the diaspora.

 “We find it important that Rwanda is present among other African countries here, and Rwanda as a pan-African country is opening its doors to Africans to come back home. As you can see, we are displaying our coffee, tea, pepper, clothing and more. We want everyone to know that Rwanda is safe for business with hospitable individuals. We are second when it comes to ease of doing business.

 President of the Brazilian Descendants Association in Lagos, Marinho Olayemi, narrated how the Brazilian descendants contributed to the growth of Lagos State.

Mr Olayemi urged Africans in the diaspora to retrace their roots.

 Also, Bolaji Mustapha, National President of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators, Bolaji Mustapha, expressed excitement at the outcome of the carnival.

 Mrs Mustapha said that for subsequent editions, the association would look into creating more products to attract more people in the diaspora.

 She stated, “We are very happy to partner with La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort for this beautiful initiative. We are changing the narrative to being slave ships to cruise ship.’’

 Managing Director of Tour Brokers International, Uloma Egbuna, described the Ipada festival as a lofty initiative.

Also, a destination promoter, Gbenga Sunday, noted that the carnival would attract lots of fortune for Africa.

 (NAN)