December in Lagos is a period of merriment, enjoyment, and relaxation. It is arguably the most anticipated time of the year, when the city comes to life, beaming and teeming with so much cheer. Offices pause, schools close, and family and friends are reunited to spend time together. But as most people often forget, amid the merriment, there are those workers who make celebrations during this period go smoothly, even though they often go unnoticed. If anything, the pandemic showed us just how relevant the essential workers are. In the true spirit of Christmas, we set out to spread as much cheer as possible. After taking a look across the community, we decided to celebrate the frontline workers who kept the wheels turning, even during the holidays.

At the beginning of December, the team at Nitro121 got to work. We sent out a survey to members of the general public, asking them which frontline worker in Lagos inspired them, and how they would like to appreciate these workers. With results from about 20 members of the public, the two frontline workers selected were a doctor and a LASTMA official. We also asked the respondents to recommend their exact location of duty where they frequently sighted these tireless workers. We ended up visiting our selected recipients at two different locations in Lagos: Festac, and Surulere. Some of our respondents made surprising them a lot easier by giving us more details about them. En route to spread more Christmas joy, we randomly stopped by on the way to hand over some of the gifts to a LAWMA agent we encountered at Ikeja. We gave out baskets filled with food items, gifts, and handwritten cards with a bunch of messages specially written by members of the public, expressing their gratitude towards these workers.