An anticipation of rooftop pleasures inside a Penthouse at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island culminated in an informal dining session with the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Idris Aregbe who uncovered the looming marathon branded “101 Days in Lagos” in an atmosphere of banter, feasting and conviviality towards cultural reclaim. Yinka Olatunbosun reports
Atremor-filled ascent on the elevator was the only price to pay to see the beautiful skyline of Lagos on the way to the penthouse- and that’s if you exclude the usual snarling traffic in the city at the close of business. As everyone was ushered to the table, pockets of conversations were going on inside the luxury suite with a flank for chafing dishes filled with delicacies. The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on tourism, arts and culture, Idris Aregbe was quite the patient host who waited till every expected guest walked in.
Perhaps, anticipating that the journalists would switch into work mode, he calmed their nerves by inviting them to feast. A few dug in with caution. To what do we owe this meet-and-greet? The answers poured in later. Idris, as many freely addressed him, was excited about the ember season: one that would usher in the “101 Days in Lagos.”
“Lagos is not just a Detty December city. Lagos is a city that never sleeps,” Idris began while studying the faces across the table. Of course, his face didn’t look like one that was about to sleep even as the dark clouds settled into the skyline adjacent to his seat. Clad in pure white attire, Idris was excited about the cultural marathon that looms in Lagos.
A series of events had been lined up from September 26 down to January 2026 around arts, culture and tourism. But it isn’t about cultural bombardment; it’s a properly curated series of cultural events that would entertain, unite and economically enrich Lagos.
“One of the ways to add colour to Lagos is to play your own part and we cannot undervalue the contribution of the press to this. Sanwo-olu is very passionate about culture and he is always making sure that everything we do, we are able to compete on the global stage.”
Last year, during the Detty December period, there were reports that some performing artists escaped severe injuries as a stage collapsed alongside the installed equipment. But this won’t happen this year as Idris promised that the state government has developed what’s called The Lagos Agenda which involves traffic management, health and safety, environment, entertainment, tourism, security and governance.
“We are working with quite a number of stakeholders who are in this community,” Idris continued. “We have a lot of events that will be springing up in the last quarter of the year. What we are saying is that Lagos does not have a dull moment. On that note, we have a 60-day pilot test of Lagos Tourism Support services; we have safety services, KAI, LAWMA, LASTMA and we have built an ecosystem for that period.”
While reflecting on the general mood of diasporans when they return to Lagos for the holidays, Idris revealed how many are often reluctant to leave the city.
“We had some people who came into Lagos around December 18 and with the mindset of leaving around 28 and 29 but at the end of the day, January 10 we still see them around and they will tell you that ‘you know my work; I can still work remotely.’”
Indeed, the cultural marathon is state-regulated but private-driven. According to Idris, several individuals are looking for government support for their projects and citing the example of Afrojuju fest, Ariya Eko and a few more.
“Networking is the new currency that we have today,” he said while beckoning to his pal, the founder of Iwalewa Gallery, Femi Williams who sat casually beside him. Idris added that no sector will be left behind: music, visual arts, festivals and particularly food.
“If care is not taken, a foreigner will visit Lagos and will only eat Lebanese food. The Lebanese are the most owners of restaurants in Lagos. Someone will visit Lagos and later return home to his country to tell stories of how he ate pasta, shawarma and wraps in Lagos. We have our own meals. What has happened to our pounded yam and amala?”
The rhetorical question provoked laughter. This was short-lived as Idris drummed in the seriousness of hosting events in Lagos and how the state would regulate the process to ensure best practices.
“Before you can have a show in Lagos, you must be certified by the Lagos State government. We need to plan for the events and the venues and be able to provide adequate support in terms of security, traffic management and all that. We are not coming up with more events than usual. We are only trying to harmonise what we have to be able to identify happenings in Lagos.
“If you must gather more than 250 people in a venue in Lagos, you must register that event and in doing that, we will have it on the culture calendar,” he said.
Some of the highlights of the ‘101 Days in Lagos’ include Art X Lagos, running from November 6 to 9. Also, from November 14 to 16, there will be a cultural weekend that will showcase dance, wrestling, a visual art exhibition, Nigerian food cafes, fashion and more.
“The American Embassy is fully on board on this,” Idris added without delving into the politics of US-Nigeria visa restrictions. As a graduate of Political Science from the University of Lagos, Idris is no newcomer to the concept of cultural diplomacy. Hence, it is in that spirit that he rolled out the lined-up events involving the international community in Lagos.
He further declared that the United States Mission in Nigeria in partnership with RunwayJazz will present a musical concert on October 5 featuring jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra (New York) with Wynton Marsalis alongside Weedie Braimah, Shenel Johns, Herlin Riley, Godwin Louis, Made Kuti, Yinka Davies, Jerry Omole, Timi Dakolo among others.
Aside from the jazz headliners, Nigeria’s finest music exports such as Burna Boy, Wizkid and more will bring vibes and spectacle to Lagos at the Detty December period, which is now globally acclaimed.
While reflecting on Lagos’ reputation for its aquatic splendour, Idris revealed also that Lagos will host a major water sports event called E1.
The ‘E1 Series’ is a world-class Electric Powerboat Championship that will bring over 250 sports personalities to Lagos from October 3 to 5. The landmark event is taking place in Africa for the first time, in Victoria Island, and symbolises Lagos’ commitment to clean energy and climate action, promotion of innovation, tourism, cultural exchange, commerce, sustainability, water transportation and sports potential.
The championship places Lagos alongside Monaco, Venice, and Jeddah as a global host city.
While speaking glowingly of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his passion for arts, culture and tourism, Idris also urged individuals and partner organisations to live up to the standards set by the state to ensure a healthy cultural life in Lagos.
In his response to the pitiable state of some community theatres in Lagos, Idris said that individual approach, citizens’ attitude and lack of continuity may be responsible for the comatose state that the theatres are at the moment.
“One of the theatres was burnt down during the EndSARS protests and we are working on it now. The other four were commissioned to some good Lagosians who promised to keep them running. But we are not happy with the way that they have been run and we are in talks with them. Those are things we have put into divisions for them to be properly managed. But we have seen that some of them had been turned into a beer parlour, and that is sad,” Idris said.
Idris added that by adopting a forward-thinking approach—working closely with stakeholders in hospitality, entertainment, and culture, this looming cultural marathon will become yet another success story.
Leave a comment