lagos, nigeria
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Lagos is busy at the best of times, but as the year draws to a close, the vast Nigerian city is changing. The annual Deti December festival brings one of the world’s biggest parties to nightclubs, bars and streets, with bright lights, loud music and soaring prices.
But this year’s celebrations are soundtracked by a cacophonous backbeat as the country tenses as economic pressures, security concerns and, most troubling of all, the government, seek to take advantage of the cool weather.
Deti December, which typically lasts from December 6 to 31 and sometimes spans January, is a very busy time in Nigeria, with non-stop activity and the local currency, the Naira, being splashed around in large quantities.
It is the time of year when members of the Nigerian diaspora descend on their homeland, an influx known as IJGB, or “I Just Got Backs.” They return home with traditional Christmas cheer, a craving for fun, and a bank account ready for big expenses. These factors have turned Lagos into a carnival hub, with traffic jams on the roads and music blaring at night.
Detty means “dirty” and is a slang term meaning to leave alone. That’s exactly what happens. Festivals, concerts, star-studded events, pop-up markets, beach parties, and weddings are happening in rapid succession, each vying to be bigger, flashier, and more memorable than the last.
In 2024, the season brought one spectacle after another. There was a flytime fest featuring Grammy-nominated stars Davido and Olamide. Vibes on the Beach with Wizkid offered another scene by the sea. City-wide parties My Afrobeats Detty December Takeover saw 15 Afrobeats-themed parties held in every corner of Lagos.
The 2025 lineup is already set with Palmwine Music Festival, Peak Detty Vibes, Bonfire Experience with Victony, Juma Jax Live in Lagos, and the Foodie in Lagos Festival lineup.
For Wale Davis, who founded Palmwine Music Festival in 2017, the rise is dramatic but not surprising.
“Before there was an official Detty December, December was always Detty December in our eyes,” he says. “It became a reality and got even bigger.” Participation skyrocketed from the early days. In the past two years alone, we have seen a dramatic increase in visitors from the diaspora and within Nigeria.
Some Lagosians plan their entire year around this day.
Entrepreneur Omotoyosi Akinkuade, 35, spent months traveling around East Asia for work, making only one break to South Africa. “Traveling across China to source goods was a huge challenge,” she says. “Thanks to Detty December, I completely detoxed from all of that.”
For Akinnuade, the arrival of Deti December means there is no longer a need to plan holiday gatherings. Now your calendar is automatically organized. “Last year, I honored a lot of wedding invitations and hung out with friends. This year I’m also looking forward to some concerts, weddings, and of course Detty December Fest.”
Some returnees see the season as more than just entertainment or a reunion: a recalibration. Public relations specialist Mimi Egesinu, who is arriving from New York for the third time, calls it “a great cultural reset.” She prefers the Lagos heat to New York winters and plans her evenings around concerts and fashion shows.
“The concert scene is really special,” she says. “It’s like watching a different global superstar every night. The collective energy can’t be matched anywhere else in the world.”
There was no need to worry even if there was a delay in purchasing tickets. “Thankfully, deals always surface around that time of year,” she says. Her family has provided her with accommodation here, so she’s ready for the season.
And it’s not just Nigeria. Ghana hosts unique events for Ghanaians and visitors, including the Bajo International Dance Festival, All Black Party, and Polo Tournament. The country has seen a steady flow of tourists since it began the Year of Return in 2019, and people of Ghanaian descent are encouraged to visit.
Fish prices and whiskey
Although Deti December may have been observed in Lagos only in recent years, these year-end celebrations are not new. For the past 20 years, Carnival Calabar has drawn crowds to Cross River State in eastern Nigeria. Meanwhile, homecoming in December has long been a part of Nigerian culture, with Lagos primarily serving as a short stopover for travelers before returning to their home countries.
That changed with the global rise of Afrobeats. “People now come back to Lagos for a few parties, which also attracts the Nigerian diaspora who come to exchange foreign currency,” says Ikechi Uko, a tourism expert and organizer of the long-running Akwaaba Travel Market. “They convert this into naira and live well. That’s why Deti’s December now seems like a luxury.”
And luxury has consequences. Airfares have already skyrocketed in August. Economy tickets on Nigerian airlines have nearly doubled to 350,500 naira. An event table that used to cost 350,000 naira now costs 500,000 naira, an increase of about $100. A bottle of cognac, which normally sells for 55,000 Naira, can cost nearly twice as much depending on the venue.
Price gouging is everywhere. In Lagos’ Surulere area, Wale Sanni paid 200,000 naira (about $135) for the same bottle of Glenfiddich whisky, which normally costs 170,000, at his usual hangout, and grilled catfish jumped from 15,000 naira to 20,000 naira. That’s the “mainland price,” he points out. On Lagos Island, the commercial center of the city, the number of drinks can reach 50,000 and the number of fish 30,000.
Demand extends beyond nightlife. Akunna Nwara Akano, founder of Kuku’s Hair, a salon chain that attracts a growing number of diaspora customers, said she started accepting reservations in August. “We’re fully booked until Dec. 31,” she says. “Our salon will be officially closed from January 1st to the 17th.” At Detty December, the number of clients per day has increased from 15 to 25.
While some people are scraping together, others are being squeezed. Tailor Funmi Busari was planning to buy additional looms to meet demand in December. She had saved up the required N400,000, but the price shot up to N450,000. Sellers “make traditional costumes for diaspora customers, so they profit from customers who are willing to pay more,” she says.
The Lagos State Government has announced that it generated over $71.6 million from tourism, hospitality and entertainment during the 2024 Deti December season.
Earlier this year, a proposal to impose a $500 tourism tax on Nigerians in the diaspora was floated. The proposal predicted a possible receipt of $165 million, but was quickly rejected by stakeholders as “reckless and potentially exploitative.” The Commission for Nigerians in Diaspora warned that “such advice is counterproductive and will rather discourage than encourage the many Nigerians planning to return home.”
Mr. Uko, a tourism industry expert, argues that the government should not intervene in an economy that is organic and human-driven. “The success that Nigerians enjoy is created by Nigerians,” he says, noting that the music scene and Nigeria’s successful “Nollywood” film industry have all flourished independently.
“Nollywood, Afrobeats, anything that promotes deity December culture is not within the purview of government. The government’s job is to ensure safety, ensure safety standards are adhered to, and assist in discussions with companies to keep rates down.”
However, even the most colorful season exists alongside a dark reality. Violent attacks, kidnappings and robberies continue to overshadow daily life in parts of the country. This uncertainty has been going on for a decade, with no clear end in sight. But life goes on, and so do the celebrations.
According to Uko, the resilience of Nigerians is embodied in Deti December, who uses music, food, dance and fashion to overcome the country’s greatest crisis. “If you have a few days to temporarily forget your blues, it’s worth making the most of them. Postponing Deti’s December won’t change your worries or make things any better.”
