Clubbing in Nigeria used to be a lifestyle for many. Anybody with a decent salary could walk into the club and have a good time. Things changed over time, as yahoo boys entered the frame. Clubbing became the new way of displaying wealth, and the nightlife scene benefitted heavily from the activities of Nigerian fraudsters. People took to clubs to show wealth and oppress others.
With the country’s current economic situation, it’s no surprise that the owners of nightclubs are complaining. The state of the economy has seen the number of regular clubbers reduce significantly. The recession affects every part of the country, and the entertainment scene is not left out.
The influx of ‘Benefit Boys’ made it worse. Benefit boys were fraud boys collecting COVID relief funds meant for American citizens. Clubbing reached an all-time high, and everyone adjusted. The price of drinks in the clubs was at an all-time high and kept on soaring.
The economy however had other .plans and the current leadership hasn’t exactly succeeded in making things better. Clubbing is slowly becoming a luxury once again, and club owners are feeling the heat.
Normally, you step into clubs and they’re full. You can hardly get a table space if you don’t make a reservation. You’re automatically positioned to receive hefty debits on your phone. These days, it’s entirely different. Having a decent night at the club requires a million naira or more, and not many people have such disposable cash to spend every weekend.
Celebrities come to the clubs more now, as there are not as many people as there used to be. A manager of one of the biggest clubs in Nigeria who preferred to not be named said “Now it’s different because Burna can come to the club four days a week and spend 50 million each day on bottles and strippers. He wouldn’t come to the club like that if it was too full every day. So it has its ups and downs.”
Clubs now try to add more centers of attraction in their activities for the night. We see more strippers in regular clubs to stimulate the eye and make men spend more. We have dancers dressing up in costumes and doing routines, with drummers setting up on stage and accompanying the DJs. Anything to add spice, clubs engage in now.
Nightlifers now look to alternative sources of fun that aren’t as costly. There’s been a huge shift and the Lagos scene now has more raves. Parties like Even In The Day, Engine Room, Group Therapy, Palmwine And Friends, BYOB, Soakers, and Insert Nights pull hundreds to thousands of people per event. These events are held bi-weekly or monthly so almost every Friday to Monday in Lagos, there’s a rave happening.
It’s more pocket-friendly to attend these raves, and as fun, if not more. Tickets range from free to about 50k, and you spend about 50k on cocktails if you want to drink a lot. You party, have a good time, and meet people, almost everything you’d do at a club and spend about 800k less than you would if you go to Vaniti or HotBox.
A couple of Nightlifers shared their opinion on the issue. Babatola says “ I spend at least two million in the club. I like to club at Vaniti, and that’s a lot of money. Whenever I go out with my guys and we go for raves or events, we spend less. If I buy a table of 300k at BYOB, I’d have a lot of fun. Considering the state of the country, this is better for my pockets.”
A female speaking anonymously said she enjoys going to parties and raves because it’s more cost-effective for her, as spending a million in a club is not pocket-friendly for her. She says she only has to worry about her Uber fare and gate fee, and that’s okay for her. Many club owners declined to speak on the issue. One can only wonder why.
From the stakeholders perspective
The stakeholders are equally suffering from the change in the nightlife scene. Strippers say they make less on an average night now, and club PRs are finding it hard to secure ballers daily. A stripper at a popular night club speaking under the condition of anonymity said ” Normally we get commission based payments when we get sprayed by ballers, so it adds to our income. When the club is full and people are spraying money, we are more engaged. These days, it’s different. People don’t spray money like they used to. Most people who come to the club just prefer to buy drinks and be conservative.”
Theresa, a stripper in one of Lagos’s finest nightlife spots had this to say. “The situation of the country is not encouraging at all. I don’t make money like I used to and it makes me sad. I really hope things change and there’s more money, because our ballers are now very calculative these days.
TJ, a club PR who sources for reservations and bookings of ballers for the club and earns a commission off their spend was very expressive about his displeasure wit the shift in the culture. He says ” I’m just annoyed. All my ballers now prefer to go to parties and raves and buy 200k tables. Anytime I tell them to come to the club, they slap me with one excuse or the other, and are only ready to club when they are a lot so they can split the bill. The ones that come to ball do not spend as much as they used to, and I can’t force them. It’s their money.”
While clubs are struggling to have a full house of 200+ people, raves are selling out in thousands. Cultural shifts are inspired by different things and for different reasons, and we just might be witnessing one in the nightlife space. The bad state of the economy might just be inspiring the next creative direction for Nigerian nightlife. It’d be interesting to see how the future plays out, and how sustainable the rave culture will be. It’d also be nice to see how it affects our music. Anyways, we’d be sharing the grace this Friday at Secrets Palace.
