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Lagos rock musician Bianca Okorocha, known as “Clayrocksu,” is taking her music offstage and onto the streets as Valentine’s Day approaches, stopping commuters to sing love songs and give them single-stem roses. The Associated Press described Lagos as a city of more than 20 million people known for hustle, commercial drive and restless energy, where honks from buses fill the air. In that environment, Okorocha said she wants people to pause and feel loved.

Okorocha’s street set brings performers into the flow of daily life as Valentine’s Day nears. She croons love songs to random commuters and accompanies the gesture with her guitar, with the AP describing her twanging along to James Blunt’s “You are Beautiful.” The article said that commuters initially react with shock that then turns into wide smiles.

Okorocha told The Associated Press that the decision to do the serenades came from a desire to help people during a difficult period. She said, “I am a musician, and we just thought it was a special and nice thing to do for people,” and added, “Especially in this time and climate where everything is kind of difficult and all you hear on the news is bad news.”

The AP report placed Okorocha’s street outreach against the backdrop of Nigeria’s recent economic and security challenges. It said that since President Bola Tinubu came to power in 2023, the government has undertaken major economic reforms, including removal of a decades-old fuel subsidy program, changes the government said would save costs and boost investment but that have contributed to what the AP described as one of the country’s worst cost of living crises in a generation.

The report also said Nigeria’s deadly security crisis has worsened conditions for millions, limiting access to farmland in the conflict-battered north and contributing to higher prices for goods elsewhere, including in Lagos. Against that setting, Okorocha’s street performances are aimed at bringing “joy and color” to the city during a season traditionally centered on romance.

The Associated Press highlighted one encounter with a Lagos resident, Barbara Lulu, who said she was stressed before the rock team approached. Lulu told the AP that she had not expected the surprise, saying, “First off, this was a very shocking moment for me, because I never expected it. It just kind of happened, and all I can say is yay!” The report described the moment as one that shifted her mood as she continued her day.

Okorocha also said she wants to change how people think about Valentine’s Day in Lagos. She told the AP that people often treat the holiday as only romantic gestures between boyfriend and girlfriend or husband and wife, and said instead, “Valentine is really just about sharing love.”

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