This is an opinion by Chido Nwakanma who writes for BusinessDay
I’m a Nigerian, yet even I can no longer afford to visit Nigeria in December (2025).
I have just checked flights for December. From 19th December to 3rd January, British Airways is charging £10,200 for economy and £15,400 for premium economy for a family of four.
That’s the cost of taking my wife and two young boys to my home country. Not a private island. Not a five-star luxury cruise. Just Nigeria.
This isn’t just about the money. It’s about what we’re losing.
My wife is English. My boys are mixed-race. And I want them to know where their father comes from. I want them to taste suya from the roadside, hear the music in Lagos traffic, sit on grandma’s lap and listen to stories that aren’t on Netflix. However, I can’t justify spending £10,000–£15,000 on a two-week trip. Can you?
Meanwhile, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and even smaller African countries have made tourism a serious business. They have national carriers, subsidised flights, hotel packages, and clear diaspora strategies.
Nigeria? No national airline; no tourism board strategy; no incentives; no price control. Just high fares and silence.
During Detty December—the one chance we have to flood the country with diaspora love and spending—we watch tickets triple in price. Instead of encouraging us to return, we’re being priced out. Again.
So, I’m asking openly:
• Where is Nigeria’s national airline?
• Where is the tourism plan?
• Why are we making it so hard for diaspora families to reconnect?
• How can our children be proud of a country they can’t afford to visit?
This isn’t just about flights. It’s about identity, culture, and future generations.
We can do better. We must do better because I want to come home. I want my children to know their roots. But Nigeria is making that dream feel impossible.
Please fix it. Start the airline. Build the tourism industry. Welcome us home. Because no Nigerian family should need a second mortgage to see their motherland.
If you are a lover of Nigeria, please share this until it gets the attention of the Government. They should do something about this.
#FixTourismNow #NigeriaDiaspora #DettyDecember #BringUsHome #StartTheAirline #NigeriaMustRise.
No name supplied.
Responses:
1. What has happened to Air Peace? And in this era, is someone advocating for price control? -Chukwuma Nwokoh.
2. The lamentation over airfare to Lagos for Christmas is loud. However, he is invited to observe the massive homecoming traffic to the Southeast, which tells a different story. This is the Igbo bragging right; despite steep transportation costs—by air or road—thousands of South Easterners will make the journey home for the December holidays.
This seeming contradiction highlights a deeper cultural and emotional reality: for many Igbo people, December is not just a festive season. It is a sacred tradition of reunion, identity, and belonging. It is only those who want to waste money in Lagos that will not save to make it home.
It could also mean that the Detty December will become a fad that soon fizzles out. The difference is clear. While Lagos offers glitz, concerts, and nightlife, the Southeast offers roots, family, village meetings, and ancestral reconnection. The heavy traffic on the Onitsha-Owerri road or the Enugu-Abakaliki corridor tells a story of priority and sacrifice. People will complain about the cost, yes—but they’ll still pay. They will endure delays, bad roads, and long queues at motor parks because being home for Christmas is non-negotiable.
Ultimately, the tears over Lagos-bound airfare are more about the pinch of inflation and less about actual deterrence. When it matters most—like December in the East—people show up, cost notwithstanding. The packed buses and booked-out flights to Enugu, Owerri, and Umuahia prove it: homecoming will beat Detty December every time.
