Bicycle Carnival in Nigeria

Greetings!

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I came across something on social media this morning, and I couldn't just skip sharing it, even though I didn’t participate in the event to have the 'original' photos.

I came across photo collections of a bicycle cultural event. At first, I wanted to skip because I had already believed that it could never be a Nigerian event, but the title amazed me—it happened in Nigeria last year in Rivers State.

Okay, the bicycle festival is called the Isokpo Festival, and it happens every 31st of December every year. The previous one, which was held last year, was titled “Pedals and Culture.” Seeing the photos with people smiling on bicycles and riding joyfully reminded me of the good old days when bicycles were a big deal in the village.

The bicycles back then weren’t the modern types; they were the older ones that we used to ride to the farm and return with firewood loaded on the carriage. When it was heavily loaded, one had to struggle a lot to maintain balance and speed. The male type of bicycle was a bit difficult for children like us(back then) because it required a special skill to stay balanced on it.

I gave it a good thought and couldn't figure out how they managed to assemble the 'real' olden-day types of bicycles for the festival. Although some people were on the modern day bicycle.

The festival is basically for fun and also a way to bring back fond memories of the good old days. It's about keeping the culture of our very first means of mobility alive. It's so interesting that even the younger ones were seen with bicycles—the smaller ones suited to their sizes—because children of these days would find it difficult to ride the kinds of bicycles that existed in those olden days.

The people were dressed in cultural outfits, and that added a lot of beauty to the festival. Most of them were in wrappers; some were in shorts with white polo shirts and the Igbo traditional cap, while others wore native hats on their heads.

According to what I read, the previous one, which happened last year, was the 5th edition of the festival. That shows the idea is still relatively new. A big applause to the organisers and initiators of the event for finding a way to preserve the culture of bicycle riding—especially in these times when bicycles, particularly the ones we grew up with, have almost gone into extinction.

People nowadays no longer fancy cycling, as motorcycles and cars have dominated the world—or at least, my part of the world, Nigeria.

The next festival will be happening in a few months(December), and I hope I’ll be available to attend because the state—Rivers State—is not far from mine. It’s going to be a beautiful sight to behold and a great opportunity to create new memories.

Thanks for reading.

The first photo is a screenshot from here. You can open the link to read more and see the photos.

The second photo was taken from canva.