I’m Not Into Valentine, Says Desmond Elliot

Ahead of the flurry of preparations for this year’s Valentine Day’s celebrations which holds on Wednesday, Lagos State lawmaker and filmmaker, Honourable Desmond Elliot, has said he is not marking the day which has been globally set to celebrate lovers.

Though the Lagos State House of Assembly is presently on recess, the lawmaker, speaking to The Nation, said he didn’t believe in celebrating Valentine as it was a foreign festival alien to Yoruba culture.

“Me, I don’t see where people celebrate Eyo outside the country,” he said, referring to the traditional Lagos festival in which masquerades draped in an all-white regalia parade the streets of Lagos.

“So, me, I’m not into valentine. The day I see the white man celebrating Eyo festival, then me, I would start.”

Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14. Named for a Christian martyr which dates back to the 5th century, but has origins in the Roman holiday Lupercalia, the Day is observed by many peoples of the world, many people exchange gifts, cards, or flowers with their special “valentine.”