CALABAR The Peoples Paradise

The City... Calabar has been known to European sailors as far back as the 15th century and was recognised as an international sea port since the 16th century. Calabar was a major slave trade port from the late 17th to 19th centuries. Though lacking the impressive forts found in Ghana and Senegal, Calabar sits in the Bight of Biafra, a region from where approximately 25-30% of Africans transported to the new world as slaves left Africa. This percentage represents the largest single point of exit. Calabar is the capital city of Cross River State in Nigeria. It is a charming and quite peaceful place, and despite the great poverty, the people of Calabar are friendly and smile often. Also, it is one of the oldest trading cities in Nigeria, set on a hill overlooking the river it is quite picturesque.

Calabar is about 1-1/2 hours from Lagos by plane and is about 25 minutes from Port Harcourt and has an International Airport - Margret Ekpo International Airport. Calabar is 1 hour flight from Abuja and a 4-hour drive from Port Harcourt. With the development of the city by the present administration, the city flight schedules have increased and you can now get a flight in or out of Calabar every day. Also the major airlines in the country have their presence felt in Calabar and have flights to and from major cities in the country; they include: Virgin Nigeria, Arik Air and Aero Contractors. Their flight schedules can easily be found at their respective websites.

There is also a regular boat service from various parts of Cameroon's coastline which will transport vehicles and people. You can actually get Cameroonian visas on the boat which can save you a lot of time. However, you can use Calabar as a base before transferring into Cameroon by road slightly further north.

The local authorities have made a great effort to make the streets safe by enlarging them, removing potholes, and adding stripes between lanes. Calabar is only accessible by road through ITU local government area, in Akwa Ibom State. Local taxis are not advisable as the cars are very old and quite often the drivers are not particularly experienced. As long as you are careful Calabar is quite safe.

The Business Opportunity... With the emerging economy of Cross River State, Calabar offers many opportunities for students, entrepreneurs and investors alike. For intance, Real Estate Investment Opportunities In Calabar. For the past eight years, Cross River State has embarked upon massive urban renewal programme. The idea behind this programme is not far fetched. It is because urban renewal is tied to tourism. The scheme has been so comprehensive that Calabar in particular has been acclaimed by all and sundry as the cleanest and best environmentally managed city in Nigeria. What formed the basis for the renewal from the outset was the review of Calabar Master Plan which led to the development of the Akpabuyo Satellite Town. This initiative of Cross River State government to create a new satellite town is aimed at decongesting the city of Calabar. Akpabuyo Satellite Town is a new suburb which is located on the fringes of Calabar. As it stands presently, Calabar urban lacks reasonable expanse of land to support large-scale housing development. The new town is about 15 minutes drive from Calabar. The site covers about 400 hectares and contains about 3,500 residential plots. Already, the state government is developing the new Housing Estate there at Ikot Offiong Ambai and foreign companies such as Orascom are expanding into the area. There is ample opportunity for private investment here. The state government further intends to build a multi-billion naira ultra modern market in Akpabuyo in order to decongest the markets within Calabar South and Calabar Municipality and to enhance Calabar metropolitan urban development. Under this policy, Government acts as a facilitator by providing infrastructural facilities in all sites acquired for housing development as a means of encouraging private sector participation. Therefore State’s housing policy is private sector driven. In other words the Government does not embark on direct housing development, but merely provides site and services for developers.

The Impact of Tourism on Real Estate in Calabar, Investigations carried out in some of the leading hotels in Calabar show that, they are experiencing increased volume of business; hotel occupancy rates range between 80% to 90% on week days and sometimes 100% on weekends. The volume of air traffic has also increased tremendously. About three airlines, namely Arik, Aero Contractors and Virgin Nigeria, have more than three schedule flights each to Calabar daily. The managements of substandard hotels have upgraded them to internationally acceptable standards.
The real estate sector is also reaping tremendously from the effect of tourism, a 3-bedroom flat that was going for N80,000.00 – N100,000.00 per annum now goes for N300,000.00 – N500,000.00 depending on the location and facilities provided. The rental upsurge for a detached house is unprecedented; the range is between N1.5m as against N500,000.00 to N800,000.00 obtained three years ago.

Hang Outs Spots...As night falls, the streetlights lights up the city paving way for a secure nightlife. Where to relax, eat or spend the night all depend on you. As there are many hotels, restaurants and bars scattered throughout the city. You can drop in at any of these to sample some great dishes made of fresh, local fish while some also serve international cuisine I can testify that you will not be disappointed. A large number of these relaxation centres and hotels are located on Ndidem Nsang Iso road, Mcc road, state housing estate, and highway which include; different joints like Bogobiri Corner, where you can enjoy suya from different vendors. Freddies Restaurant is the local eaterie. Run by Ellie and professional staff, Freddies is a successful and well run restaurant. Main menu is lebanese foods but Ellie will try to please everyone. Good salads, fish and best of all huge prawns are the best. Local beers, wines and all drinks are available and all at good prices. Chinese restaurant at the Mirage Hotel is well run and although fairly limited menu, food is good but not cheap though.

Festivals & Events...Calabar the state capital play host to the Cross River State Annual Christmas Festival held every year and it attracts thousands within and beyond Nigeria. The Festival which include music performance from both local and international artists, the annual Calabar carnival, Boat regatta, Fashion shows, Christmas Village, traditional dances and the annual Ekpe Festival is a yearly events that bring in thousands of tourists at the time of the year.

Accomodation...Calabar the capital city play host to a lot of hotels and recreational center too numerous but few to mention. The Mirage Calabar is an award-winning hotel in Calabar, Nigeria, with all its efforts dedicated to provide luxury and extreme comfort to its guests. The Calabar International Airport is a mere 7 minute drive from the Hotel making it convenient for all travelers. The Mirage Calabar offers spacious rooms, finely decorated with antique wooden paneling and furniture. The rooms are equipped with air-conditioning for those warmer days, high speed internet access, direct telephone line, satellite television, a mini bar, hairdryer, safe and private full bathroom. The Mirage Calabar has a fantastic Chinese Restaurant serving delicious Chinese and Asian meals. The Pinnacle Restaurant on the other hand serves excellent Nigerian and International cuisine. Enjoy a pre-dinner drink outdoors at Bom Bom Bar with its tropical beach feel. Go shopping in the city centre, game viewing, horse riding, explore the museums and all its interesting stories or just sit back at the hotel and relax. Golf players can enjoy a great game or two at the golf course, not too far from the hotel.

Take A Tour...You've heard so much about this Nigerian city(Calabar), now you can have a feel of this renown place even before physically stepping into it. Take a virtual tour and explore the sights and sounds of Calabar. The Afi Mountain Ranch (near Katabang) has cabins for guest accommodation and a forest canopy walkway (25m high!) for people to experience the environment more closely. You are able to visit both after prior arrangement with the team Tel: +234 (0)803 592-1262 Email: info@pandrillus.org Website: www.pandrillus.org. Go, meet Mickey the chimp and experience having him sit in your lap and fiddle with your hair. Drill Monkey Rehab Centre, Ndidem Nsang Iso Road hidden behind the Jahas Guest House. It was set up by two overlanders from the USA (Peter Jenkins and Liza Gadsby) who were biologists back home but who were persuaded by the Nigerian Government to stay in Nigeria and look after the endangered Drill Monkeys which were traditionally hunted and eaten in the Afi Mountain range that borders Cameroon. The couple now have staff in Calabar where they care for recently rescued monkeys e.g. those they capture from people trying to smuggle and export them and they also then return them to the wild at the Drill Ranch in Afi Mountains which is not too far from Calabar. You need a decent vehicle and map to get you to the ranch.

Calabar Museum, on the hill overlooking the waterfront, in the Old Government House, the former residence of the colonial governor. The building was designed and built in Glasgow and shipped over in pieces. The museum concentrates on the history of Calabar, the region and slavery. It has a larger quantity of original documents relating to Nigeria. Since it is not heavily frequented by tourists you can easily get a guided tour from one of the staff. Interested persons could spend 3 hours there and barely touch the surface of the material. There are a lot of artifacts relating to the production of palm oil in the back which are fascinating too.

Duke Town church One of the oldest churches in Nigeria. It was established by the Presbyterian church missionaries. If you go to Eyamba Street just past the church there is a cemetery with stunning views over the town and river. Inside the cemetrey is the tomb of Mary Slessor, a missionary from Dundee in Scotland UK. She was very influential in this part of Nigeria.

The old town is remarkable for its great variety of small shops where you can get just about anything (but expect to bargain). There are two great markets, Watt Market and Marian market. Watt market is large, bustling, vibrant and full of beautiful materials etc. One can buy anything from live chickens to the most stunning wax materials, jeans at knock down prices and anything from car parts to the latest 'trainers'. Marian market is much smaller but is where the vegetables arrive once weekly from the north of Nigeria and the atmosphere on market day is fantastic, preachers are singing, women are joining in, traders are very vocal and one just bargains for everything. Seriously, materials in Calabar are second to none. Beautiful waxes from Ghana, stunning materials from all over Africa can be found in Calabar - all at prices that will amaze. There are many very professional tailors who can make wonderful clothing from linens etc. For those of us that we haven't tasted fresh live fish, you can get it direct from the sea.

Cross River State IT Village, at Women Development Center Parliamentary road, Equipped with state of the art IT facilities, Wifi, Wireless Internet, IT capacity building and Coffee shop and restaurant. Scanning, Printing, Chatting and Browsing and Photocopying as Well As All Night Browsing Services Everyday. There are enough machines for walking visitors and guides are available to help people who can't browse well get on the Internet.

Tinapa is a world class business and entertainment complex. It houses an array of retail outlets and is the ultimate destination for shopping for local and international labels. The complex also has more than enough capacity for games and indoor sports. It has restaurants which serve a wide choice of cuisine to the tourist.

Historical Facts about CALABAR
• Calabar has been known to European Sailors as far back as the 15th century
• It has an international sea port known to the world from the 16th century
• Calabar was a major slave trade port from the late 17th to 19th century.
• About thirty percent of the estimated 2.5 million slaves taken from Africa to the new world, passed through the Calabar sea port.
• Calabar once served as the seat of Government of the Niger Coast Protectorate, Southern Protectorate and Oil River Protectorate.
• Calabar has one of the earliest Military barracks in Nigeria.
• It was the place where Monorail was first experienced in Nigeria.
• Calabar was a location for the first two botanical gardens in Nigeria (the other being in Lagos – Ebutte Metta).
• Calabar has the first public (General) Hospital in Nigeria – St. Margaret Hospital.
• Calabar has the oldest post office that provided postal services in Nigeria.
• Calabar has the first social club in Nigeria – The Africa Club
• It produced the first Nigerian Professor, Professor Eyo Ita.
• Competitive football matches in Nigeria first began in Calabar
• Competitive Cricket and Hockey games first began in Calabar.
• The first Nigerian Inspector General of Police. Sir Loius Edet, was an indigene of Calabar.
• Calabar has the oldest Secondary School East of the Niger, Hope Waddell Training Institute (1895).
• Road Networking began from Calabar in the East of the Niger.
• A Calabar school produced the 1st President of the Independence Nigeria (Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe).
• The Governor of the defunct Eastern Region of Nigeria was a product of the same school in Calabar (late Francis Ibiam).
• Calabar has been habited for more than 2000 years.
• Calabar has been a business center and a city, which also witnessed waves of Migration of the Bantu movement.
• Calabar and Cross River has the longest Tropical Rain Forest Area which is relatively precinct.
• Calabar is watered by the Calabar and Great Qua rivers and creeks of the Cross River (from its inland Delta).
• Kings and Obong of Calabar were the first kings to sign treaties with Europeans, East of the Niger.
• Mrs. Margaret U. Ekpo from Calabar was the first woman Special member in Nigeria’s Eastern House of Chiefs and later Eastern House of Assembly.
• The first Nigeria’s World Boxing Champion, Hogan (KID) Bassey hailed from Calabar.
• King Archibong III (Obong) was the first King in the Southern Nigeria to be crowned with regalia sent by Queen Victoria in 1878.
• The Catholic Church said its first Mass East of the Niger in 1903 at No. 19 Bocco Street, Calabar.
• Calabar was the first town to host the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (Church of Scotland Mission) in 1846.
• Etubom Oyo Orok Oyo from Calabar is the premier football administrator, the first and only Nigerian so far to be elected into Executive Committee of FIFA (1980 – 1988) and the first Africa to be made an Honorary Vice president of Confederation of African Football (CAF) (from 1988 for life).

The Bakassi Territorial Dispute
Bakassi was founded around 1450 by the Efik of coastal south eastern Nigeria, and was incorporated within the political framework of Calabar Kingdom along with Southern Cameroons. During the European scramble for Africa, Queen Victoria signed a Treaty of Protection with the King and Chiefs of Calabar on 10 September 1884. This enabled the United Kingdom to exercise control over the entire territory of Calabar, including Bakassi. The territory subsequently became de facto part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, although the border was never permanently delineated. Interestingly, even after Southern Cameroons voted in 1961 to leave Nigeria and became a part of Cameroon, Bakassi remained under Calabar administration in Nigeria until the International Court of Justice's judgement of 2002 which ceded ownership of Bakassi to Cameroon.