Sawt Falasteen - Nigeria's cash-splashing 'Detty December' festivities kick off in Lagos

Nigerians and tourists alike, especially members of the country's massive diaspora, descend on the megacity annually to visit family and friends and observe the holidays -- and party.

Never mind the recent state of emergency declared by the government last month over mass kidnappings in the north and centre of the country, or the brutal inflation that has squeezed the country for two years: in Lagos, the anchor of southern Nigeria and the nation's economic capital, the music will be bumping and the drinks flowing.

A cultural staple, it's also a crucial cash cow, raking in millions of dollars for the tourism, restaurant and hotel sectors.

"I'll call it a cultural pilgrimage," Deola Art Alade, an events organiser who with her husband trademarked the phrase "Detty December" in 2019 and put together an annual festival mixing concerts, food and clubbing events.

"Detty", in Nigerian Pidgin English, is derived from "dirty" -- calling to mind the, at times, wild and non-stop festivities that arise as the city swells past its normal 20-million or so residents.

- Millions in revenue -

Amid the street parties and high-profile concerts, the government is trying to take advantage of the annual homecoming by partnering with the Art Alades' festival.

"Together we are moving Detty December from a social trend to a structured national asset," declared Culture Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa last month.

Last year, the Lagos state authorities estimated that the month's various festivities brought in some $71.5 million in government revenue, including $44 million just from the hotel sector.

That sum was welcome amid the country's biting economic crisis, which saw inflation topping 30 percent throughout 2024.

Buoyed by the end-of-year tradition's growth, the government this year promoted a "101 Days in Lagos" culture and tourism initiative, which has seen the last three months filled with exhibitions, conventions and festivals leading up to a "Detty December" finale.

- 'Africa's real summer' -

It's "Africa's real summer", Deola Art Alade's husband Darey told AFP, and there's evidence its popularity is expanding internationally beyond the traditional diaspora.

"People are coming to see their families, they're bringing their friends," Darey said, describing a "Dirty December fever".

"This year, we have a lot of Americans living in America, you know, Black Americans now looking at coming out here and paying for packages, just to have a different kind of experience," Iyadunni Gbadebo, sales director for Eko Hotels & Suites, told AFP.

For the hotel -- Lagos's biggest, with some 825 rooms and nine restaurants and bars -- December represents some 15 to 20 percent of annual revenues.

People start booking rooms as early as July, and the hotel fills up by November.

As expected in Lagos, awash in both oil wealth and informal slums, the prices can be eye-watering: weekly packages for a family of four can range between eight and 13 million naira -- $5,500 to $9,000, depending on the room.

But the ultimate holiday gift each year is the concert line-up, with globe-trotting Afrobeats stars as keen as their countrymen to take part in the homecoming.

This year, Asake and Davido are set to perform on Christmas Eve and Christmas respectively.

Tickets are about four times the monthly minimum wage of 70,000 naira ($50).

Q.Bulbul--SF-PST