The centre of excellence slogan that capes Lagos and its bubbling outlook go beyond the corporate makeup. Lagos as a state is fast becoming a party-driven economy with every form of business cashing in on social events that take place everyday in Lagos. Yes, events have become a daily routine in the state, and you’ll be surprised how it has become a key ‘sector’ sustaining its economy in ways that can’t be imagined.
Aside from a cross-section of businesses that run 9 to 5, many people in Lagos now depend on Owambe parties for their daily survival. Social functions have formed a big chunk of what keeps the economy of the Southwestern region of Nigeria going. Unknown to many who view Owambe parties from the surface, parties have also become a big source of employment opportunities for many people, who will have remained jobless for a long time, as white-collar jobs have continued to remain elusive.
When you reflect on the huge number of people cashing in on Owambe and how it makes money circulate among small-scale entrepreneurs, you’ll realise it has become an industry with a considerable impact on the economy.
First, let’s consider the wide range of networks provided by Owambe parties. The first thing a prospective celebrant puts on paper when arranging for a party is the event planner. Unlike before when only families and friends are the ones who help the celebrant coordinate parties, professionals have taken up the task to ensure that the organisers and guests have a memorable experience.
At the first meeting, the celebrant discusses with an event planner who brings to the table a plethora of choices for the venue and an array of vendors; the news media, decorators, bouncers, ushers, African dishes food vendors, desserts, small chops, exotic and soft drinks, cameramen and videographers, event anchors, live bands and disc jockeys, even to new currency notes sellers. So, we can estimate the cost that goes into event planning and how the economy is improved in the process.
Each food vendor employs no fewer than 5 servers who would serve the guests. For instance, where there are 5 food vendors, there will be between 20 to 25 servers who would make N5, 000 each at a minimum, aside from the tips from guests to get special treatments. Each server is certain of going home with at least N6, 000 after transportation cost.
The new currency notes sellers are not usually invited to events, but they remain a key part of memorable events, no wonder you see them at almost all major events. With a token of N1, 000, bouncers will give them access into the event and you’ll see them, brandishing wads of new naira notes. A bundle of N5, 000 notes in any denomination will attract an extra N2, 000. These money changers make as much as N20, 000 to N50, 000 per event; no socialite wants to spray old notes.
The Aso Ebi fabric sellers are the biggest gainers in most of these events. When you attend big events these days, you will notice that guests now wear more than one Aso Ebi in an event. They pick two or three categories of fabrics and name them, Aso Ebi (the regular fabric for the event), which can cost between N5,000 to N50,000. Then the Aso Egbe (fabrics for various groups to identify themselves) which also may cost between N30,000 and N100,000), then the Aso Ijo (the cloth that the celebrant and his or her special guest would wear to the stage to spray money), this is usually HOH lace which cost between N150,000 to N1,000,000.
Most times, the choice of Aso Ebi that is purchased by guests usually determines the souvenirs that they would get. Some guests will get special souvenirs that will be worth N50, 000, while others will only get a pack of toothpicks and handkerchiefs. Those who don’t understand how Owambe business works may want to question the inequality, but the more you invest to support the celebrant, the bigger your gift will be.
There are some guests, who in the bid to match up with their peers, rent jewelleries from jewellery lenders to complement their look for the day. They pay as much as N20, 000 at times to rent as high as 18-carat gold necklaces, earrings, and hand bands, to sufficiently fit in the group. So, the jewellery lenders cannot be left out from the list of gainers.
The above set of people are direct economic beneficiaries of every event. There are also other beneficiaries who key into Owambes providing proxy services and who benefit without attending the party. The car-hailing services in this category. This is why you’ll notice that Uber, Bolt, Taxify and other forms of taxis, are close to event centres. These drivers make more than their regular daily earnings when they are engaged at events. At 10 Degrees, an event centre around Billings Way, one of the challenges of guests who attend events in this place is getting commercial buses around the venue. Some cab drivers would collect as low as N500 to convey each passenger from the venue to Oregun, Ikeja or Allen, where they can get buses or other cabs to wherever they intend to go. And one driver is capable of doing 7 to 10 trips, making as much as N2, 000 per trip in a cab capable of conveying 4 passengers. So the possibility of making up to N20, 000 in two hours is high.
Some events are so big that the organisers may book all hotels within the town to accommodate guests who may be coming from far distances and in need of somewhere to stay overnight. They pay for every room in the hotel and direct their guests to get a room with their reference or booking identification number.
The guest performing artists are also one of the big earners from Owambes. In Lagos and some parts of the Southwest, the level and class of celebrants are determined by who is performing at their events. There can be live bands, fuji or juju artists that will be contracted and the cost of life performance ranges between N2 million to N10 million. After the regular charge, these artists get more money through singing praises of guests, who will come up to the stage to spray money. The Aso-Ijo caucus will also come up spray in groups. They spray the celebrant, the singer and one another.
The news media that covers the event to publicise also charges as high as N400, 000, depending on the platform. Citypeople for instance, charges between N300, 000 and N500, 000 for event coverage and delivers with photo pages in the print, a blow-by-blow account of the report accompanied with an Instagram upload.
There are also other Instagram Owambe influencers, who cover events and give it live colouration by revealing the Aso Ebi fabrics and cost of the jewelleries that are prominent at the party, the event flow and all other snippets. Influencers such as Abiola Orisile, Owambe Plus, Ovation and Goldmyne TV, are popular for social media coverage.
The latest addition to event participants is the Lagos State Safety Commission. When you attend events in Lagos these days, you will notice two or three staff of the Lagos State government who are out to ensure that all COVID-19 protocols, including social distancing, are observed.
Majorly, social functions serve as a convergence point where businessmen and women meet in a more relaxed environment outside the corporate scene. Politicians, government functionaries, CEOs, chairmen of conglomerates, captains of industries and professional experts, network, meet and exchange contacts and cards, and new business relationships are established. Owambe provides a unique opportunity for people of various circles to mingle.
Owambe has indeed outgrown its original traditional connotation to become a cliché for describing weekend social events among Lagosians, to a culture that puts food on the table of many people, either actively or passively. It allows money to circulate in a manner one could never have imagined.
