Davido Announces a December 29 Performance at Calabar Carnival, and Your Wallet Has Already Started Crying

The man has posted five lines on X, and Nigerians have already started planning, borrowing, and lying to their bosses.

Davido has announced that he will headline the 2026 Calabar Carnival on 29 December, at the main bowl of the U.J. Esuene Stadium. His exact words were: “We have a date: 29th December, 2026. Main bowl U.J. Esuene Stadium. See you there.” See you there! Just like that. He did not say “book a flight,” “find a hotel,” or “call your cousin in Calabar and ask for a mattress.” He just said “see you there”, like the whole country is next door.

Because that is the thing about Nigerian December. It is not a month, it is a project. First, you tell your friends, “I will go, for sure.” Then you open the flight app. Then you close the flight app. Then you stare at the ceiling. A ticket to Calabar in December costs the same as a small kidney. And the hotel? A room that you would not look at in March now has the confidence of a presidential suite. The receptionist says “full”, the second hotel says “full”, the third says “we have one room, but it is a storeroom, and it is ₦150,000.” You will take it. Everyone takes it.

Meanwhile, the Cross River State Government is happy. The state says Calabar Carnival is a famous event of costumes, dance, street parades, and cultural performances. And it is. The first dry run is even scheduled for 18 October, which means the state is already practising how to welcome you before you finish begging your landlord for your rent extension. The costumes are beautiful, the bands are colourful, and the whole city will move like a moving rainbow. But let us be honest. A lot of us are coming for the costumes, the culture, and, mainly, to see whether Davido will start his set at 8 p.m., or at 2 a.m., when the sun is nearly back.

That is the true Nigerian concert experience. You arrive early, because they said the show starts at 7. You stand for hours. You make three friends in the crowd. You see four other artists. You are tired, and then, at the last minute, the music changes, the lights go down, someone screams “OBO!”, and suddenly you have the energy of a teenager. Your legs forget their pain. You record the whole thing on your phone, and you will never watch the video.

The rule of the 29th will be very simple. Nobody will go to sleep early. Nobody will answer calls from the office. And by the 30th, half of Lagos will be sending messages that say, “I am still in Calabar, my account is empty, please send transport.”

But I must say it: the show will probably be wonderful. And, like every December plan we make, we will keep saying we will not spend too much and then spend like it is the last December on earth.

So start saving now. Open a small account. Tell your family. And if somebody invites you to Calabar for 29 December, do not respond with “we will see”. Respond with “send me the account number for the hotel.”