In this cross-fire debate, Mudiare Onobrakpeya and Yinka Olatunbosun share their opposing views on Detty December as a cultural phenomenon under threat.
Detty December and the Cost of Our Own Excess
Mudiare Onobrakpeya
Detty December was never a master plan. It was an explosion of culture. Music, fashion, nightlife, diaspora nostalgia, and that unpredictable Lagos energy collided and created something the world could not ignore. We did not design a billion-dollar seasonal economy—we discovered it by accident.
And then we got greedy.
What is unfolding now is not a loss of global interest in Nigerian culture; it is the slow damage caused by mismanagement. Prices are rising aggressively while value is shrinking. Ordinary experiences are being sold as luxury. Poor service is excused by forex, logistics, or “December stress.” Chaos is marketed as authenticity.
That combination never lasts.
No serious market survives where prices keep climbing and delivery keeps falling. Visitors will not continue to pay premium rates for mid-tier outcomes. Diasporans will not keep returning out of nostalgia if they feel punished for coming home. Tourists will always choose destinations where their money is respected, not ambushed.
Other African cities understand this. While we squeeze, they curate. Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, even Benin Republic are building intentional ecosystems—clear pricing, safety, coordinated events, and experiences that feel thought-through rather than improvised.
Nigeria still runs December tourism on vibes alone. There is no seasonal pricing discipline, no incentive structure for operators, no national calendar aligning transport, security, hospitality, and programming. We had first-mover advantage, but we failed to protect value—and without value, attention eventually moves on.
Detty December cannot survive on inflated pricing, inconsistent quality, and survival-mode operators. If we do not introduce policy thinking, customer-experience standards, and long-term ecosystem planning, this season will become a case study in how greed choked a once-in-a-generation opportunity before it fully matured.
Markets behave like people.
They stay where they feel valued, and they leave where they feel exploited.
The warning signs are already here.
Visitors are voting with their passports.
And the exit line is growing longer.
Detty December as a Mirror of Nigeria’s Battered Economy
Yinka Olatunbosun
It’s with all sense of cynicism that I looked at social media videos of IJGBs, an acronym for Nigerians in Diaspora called I-Just-Got-Back. Their excitement is almost infectious, creating a fear of missing out. A typical Nigerian on a strung out budget and salary lifestyle is not excited about Nigeria let alone Detty December. If anything, most working class citizens dread December as a month of chaos, needless traffic and inflated prices for almost everything. Throughout 2025, salary has been a slap in the face for many. Uncontrolled pricing system had become normalcy in Nigeria and the media is becoming less reflective of the actual situation.
Tems, Ayra Starr and Tyla in Lagos at Detty December 2024.
But the entire picture of Nigerian economy is not all together gloomy. While many Nigerians are struggling to make ends meet, content creators are cashing out in foreign currency this creating an imbalance in income. Still, house rents have surged in the metropolis and many business owners are groaning. For most female salon owners, wig making was more profitable than hair making. To break even, many businesses look forward to Detty December as the peak period to make enough money to stay in business. Hence, it would be a shallow judgement to conclude that all businesses with inflated prices are driven by greed. Necessity and survival are the core reasons why many businesses are raising the stake this December.
While one wouldn’t discountenance the fact that exploitation is in the air, the prices simply model after the simple economics of the higher the demand, the higher the price.
It’s understandable that many Nigerians too, even when offered free tickets to the music concerts, would rather stay at home. Insecurity, cost of transportation and lack of cheap and adequately available transport options are making it difficult for Nigerians to leave ‘Netflix’ for live shows. Also, pragmatic individuals will think school fees, house rents and future projects before concert tickets- especially where they dare not snooze. Lol.
For Detty December to survive and thrive, there must be price control, air-conditioned concert buses for commuters at major bus stops in Lagos to lessen vehicular traffic, heightened security personnel and perhaps a think-tank to curate a larger picture for this tourist attraction. Asides having a calendar, there should be state-approved professional guides to help IJGBs get the best bargain on everything. Trust me, not all Lagosians are greedy.
