Nigerians Bid Farewell to 2024, Welcome 2025 with High Spirits Amid Hardships

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

Millions of Nigerians across different parts of the populous African country have bid farewell to the year 2024 in grand style, welcoming the new year 2025 with high spirits despite the biting hunger and hardships that dotted the socio-economic landscape of the country.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that Nigerians, who have earned global reputation as a fun-loving, resilient and creative people, took time to bid year 2024 a good bye in various exciting ways, ranging from joining cross over services in worship centres, to hanging out with friends at various social relaxation spots to celebrate their survival of the year.

OTN News further reports that the some state governments also organised cross over events where residents of their states gathered at designated places to welcome the new year 2025 with heavy fireworks and musical entertainment as well as short prayers.

OTN Correspondents gathered that from Lagos to Ibadan, Abeokuta, Portharcourt, Sokoto, Kaduna, Bayelsa and other major cities in the country, Nigerians trooped out in their large numbers to celebrate the new year 2025.

OTN News further reports that due to heavy human and vehicular traffic along the Lagos Ibadan expressway resulting from worshippers who thonged major churches doting the landscape of the expressway where the headquarters of most of the Christian and Islamic worship centres are located, there was heavy traffic along the route caused by people who trooped out to experience the Watch Night Services, that have become an annual transition ritual cherished by Nigerians, marking the transition from an old year to a new year.

OTN News also reports that millions of Nigerians, especially Christians and Muslims, spent the last few hours of the year 2024 in churches, Islamic prayer centres where loud noises of singing, chanting of religious catch phrases, dancing and loud screams and exclamations of the salutary greetings “Happy New Year!” reverberated from the pulpit to the pew as clergies who led such religious services led the congregations in the frenzied exchange of congratulatory new year pleasantries on the dot of the cross over time, being 12 am of January 1st, 2025.

However, OTN News correspondents who monitored major new year eve services by major churches in Nigeria observed that unlike previous years when most church leaders gave a checklist of predictive prophecies about the new year, year 2025 was merely attended to with positive affirmations and general predictions.

Else where, many people who gathered in social clubs, spots and relaxation points as well as other cross over parties, made merry, wining and dining with assorted menu of drinks being served while musical entertainment activities took place until the dot of the time where people equally went into frenzied screaming of "Happy New Year!", making phone calls and sending text messages or WhatsApp chats to their family members, friends and acquaintances.