The hotels are booked and final preparations for the festivals and concerts are under way, as Lagos prepares for "Detty December", Nigeria's end-of-year frenzy.

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

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