Quizzes

Stacks

Shows

Podcasts

Newsletters

Naira Life

Love Life

Hustleprint

Love Currency

Sunken Ships

What She Said

My Bro

So You Don’t Have To

Interview With…

Zikoko Memes

Jollof Road

Cholera Outbreak Update

Follow our socials

  • Nigerian weddings are known for their extravagance, especially if both families are wealthy. However, even the Nigerian upper class can learn a thing or two from the recently concluded Ambani wedding, which was estimated to cost between $132 to $156 million.

    From a four-day cruise ship to multi-million-dollar groomsmen gifts, here’s everything that went down at the Ambani wedding.

    The couple

    All The Over-The-Top Highlights From The Million Dollar Ambani Wedding

    Groom Anant Ambani, 29, is the son of Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani. With an estimated net worth of about $120 billion, the groom’s dad is among the wealthiest people in Asia and the 11th-richest person in the world. Bride Radhika Merchant, also 29, is the daughter of Shaila Merchant and Viren Merchant. According to the Times of India, Radhika’s parents have an estimated net worth of approximately $90 million.

    Rihanna’s performance at first pre-wedding event

    All The Over-The-Top Highlights From The Million Dollar Ambani Wedding

    Months after their engagement ceremony, the couple made headlines in March 2024 when singer Rihanna took a break from her eight-year hiatus to perform at their pre-wedding celebration in the family’s hometown.

    The 1,200-guest list included Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and current and former prime ministers of Canada.

    A glass palace

    The Ambanis hosted guests in a custom-built glass house for the first pre-wedding event. The night’s theme was “An Evening of Everland,” and a light show featured more than 5,000 drones.

    Four-day European cruise

    All The Over-The-Top Highlights From The Million Dollar Ambani Wedding

    After the festivities in March, the Ambanis set off in May on a multi-day Mediterranean cruise with friends and family for a second pre-wedding celebration. “It was a retreat for the people who have contributed to our life in different ways,” said the bride, Merchant. The cruise’s events began in Palermo, Sicily, on May 29, with a lavish welcome lunch for all invited. The next two days saw the family and their guests cruise through Rome and Cannes before their final stop in Portofino on June 1. Grammy-winning musicians Katy Perry, The Backstreet Boys, Shakira and Andrea Bocelli performed.

    The temple-themed wedding invitation

    If you think Lagosians are over-the-top with wedding invites that come with customised champagne bottles, then you’ll have a hard time processing the Ambanis’ wedding invite.

    A video on social media shows the wedding invite as a huge red box. The box opens to reveal a small silver temple accompanied by the sound of Hindu mantras. The temple features gold idols of different Hindu gods. The invitation itself includes different access cards for each wedding function.

    Justin Bieber performs at the Sangeet

    All The Over-The-Top Highlights From The Million Dollar Ambani Wedding

    After pulling the likes of Rihanna, Akon, Andrea Bocelli, and Katy Perry for previous pre-wedding events, the couple topped the list with a Justin Bieber performance at their sangeet (welcome party) on July 5.

     [ad]

    The main wedding location

    The final wedding festivities held at the Jio World Centre, an 18.5-acre business and cultural centre in Mumbai owned by the Ambanis.

    The wedding itself

    The grand finale — the Ambanis’ wedding weekend—lasted from July 12 to 14. About 2,000 guests gathered to celebrate the couple, with performances from Nigeria’s Rema and “Despacito” hitmaker Luis Fonsi, among others.

    Guests at the final wedding ceremony included India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi; former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; Bollywood stars such as Anil Kapoor and Janhvi Kapoor; Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas; Kim and Khloe Kardashian; and John Cena.

    Expensive gifts for groomsmen

    The groom reportedly commissioned 25 special edition Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar watches as gifts for his groomsmen. These 18K rose gold timepieces have a sapphire crystal back and a Grande Tapisserie pattern. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, one of the groomsmen, was seen wearing one of the watches.

    While it’s safe to say the celebrations are pretty much over, the couple might pull yet another trick for their honeymoon.

    Read this next: The Zikoko Guide To Throwing An Owambe In Lagos

  • The typical Nigerian “owambe” is barely a complete experience if guests haven’t rained money on the celebrant in an almost excessive display of wealth. While most people look forward to this highlight, I was shocked to find out that there are others who’d rather skip the entire show. 

    Amid EFCC’s recent clampdown on socialites for spraying money at events, Segun* shares how his mum’s experience with a diabolic relative shaped his interaction with money at social functions. 

    As Told To Adeyinka

    My earliest memory of my mum getting furious and creating a scene in public was at my 10th birthday party. 20 years later, I still have a vivid picture of what happened.

    While dancing on the stage, an aunt from my father’s side came to press ₦50 notes against my forehead. I’m not sure if it was a deliberate attempt on her part, but she wouldn’t put the money anywhere else but my forehead. I remember my mum yanking me off almost immediately and walking off the stage. My aunt was furious, and they both got into a loud argument that almost disrupted the party. My aunt argued that my mum’s action implied she had ill intent against me. My mum, on the other, hand wasn’t willing to take chances.

    Years later, I learnt that what happened on my birthday was a traumatic response to my mum’s experience at her wedding. The gist is, an older relative who came from the village pressed money against her head the same way my aunt did at my birthday. My mum fell sick for weeks after her wedding and was hospitalised.  The doctors couldn’t say exactly what was wrong and all the treatment did nothing to improve her condition.

    The biggest women-only festival in Lagos is BACK.
    Get your tickets here for a day of fun, networking and partayyyyy

    Things only got better after my granny involved an Islamic cleric who revealed they had to find and discard “bad money” from a close relative sprayed on her wedding day. Many relatives attended the wedding and since my mum was barely conscious, she couldn’t tell the family members whom she suspected. Remember, she was hospitalised almost immediately after her wedding, so all the money from the wedding was still in a bag. It was hard to identify which money was from whom so the cleric suggested giving everything to charity. She was discharged about a week later and the doctors described her recovery as “miraculous”. 

    That experience shook my mum’s core, and it shaped her interaction with money at social events. If the money isn’t in an envelope or sprayed into a collection bag or basket, my mum doesn’t want it. This has also rubbed off on me and my siblings over the years. We might not be as extreme as our mum, but if someone aims for our head or forehead while spraying money, we find ways to dodge it or remove ourselves from that situation. 

    In my case, I also avoid doing the same to people. I’d rather put the money in a brown envelope and give it to the celebrant, spray it in the collection bag or just ignore it entirely. 

    [ad]

    READ ALSO: Zikoko’s Guide to Avoid Spraying Money at Parties

  • I don’t know how it came to be, but spraying money is a big part of Nigeria’s owambe culture. 

    Owambe Party
    Source: Zikoko memes

    Unfortunately, this culture hurts your account balance. How can you enjoy parties and still avoid spraying money?

    Stay at home

    Source: Zikoko memes

    You won’t have to spray anyone if you’re not at the party. Whip out your phone and stream the party live— problem solved.

    Sit down and just vibe to the music

    Source: Zikoko memes

    Even if you decide to go to the party, don’t stand up to dance.  Just move from side to side on your seat. 

    Find fellow non-sprayers

    Source: Zikoko memes

    Find like-minded people who are just there to eat and have fun.

    Always carry something in both hands

    Source: Zikoko memes

    When your hands are busy, you can’t spray money.

    Wear the aso-ebi

    Source: Zikoko memes

    This is the best way to blend in with the crowd. They won’t notice you’re not spraying if you’ve already spent money on their ₦50k lace.

    Pretend to be the official photographer

    Carry a camera around and take on the role of the official wedding photographer. People will assume you’re too busy capturing moments to participate in the spraying ritual.

    Source: Zikoko memes

    Adopt a “no cash” policy

    Source: Zikoko memes

    Claim that you’ve gone cashless for the day and proudly show off your empty wallet. Insist that you’re fully committed to the digital payment evolution and cannot participate in the spraying tradition.

    Blend into the background

    Party Owambe
    Source: Zikoko memes

    If you can’t blend in with the “haves” in your aso-ebi, find a cozy spot near a wall, somewhere secluded, or even under the tablecloth. Once the spraying starts, fade into the background and become one with the furniture.

    Hire a personal bodyguard

    Bouncer Owambe Party
    Source: Zikoko memes

    Find big gym bros to shield you from any attempts to make you spray. It might cost you, but whatever the cost, we’re sure it’ll be lower than senselessly spraying mint cash all day.

  • Since you’re always asking God if you’re a spoon, we decided to give you an answer once and for all. So take this quiz to find out

  • Have you ever been served food that looks like it was from the bottom of the pot an owambe? Meanwhile, the waiters pass snail, Chinese rice and pepper soup over your head to other guests. How is it that some people get the best food at these parties, but you keep getting one spoon of jollof rice and a hard piece of meat? It’s because everyone else follows our advice but you. Let me help you avoid that at your next owambe.

    Become a server 

    Party servers always hoard the best food for themselves. At the end of the party, you’ll see them eating food that wasn’t even on the menu. Become a server, and you’ll have extra food to take home sef. 

    Pretend to be a server 

    If you can’t get the catering company to hire you days before the event, don’t panic. Just pretend you’re one. Get there while the caterer is setting up and steal somebody’s uniform. The owambe chaos will be too much for the caterer to even notice you’re not one of their people.  

    Know the person in charge of the food 

    You have to do your research to find out the names of at least five big aunties related to the hosts’ family. Trace them and befriend them. This is a lot of work for food you’re going to poop out sha. 

    Pretend to be the person in charge 

    Just walk around and start giving orders to the people serving food. Tell them who to serve to, and make sure they start with your table. If they ask who you are, just give them one serious traditional name and say you’re the person in charge.

    Have the family aso ebi

    Wearing the aso ebi for immediate family members gives you privileges like getting served the best food. I don’t know how you want to get the family aso ebi sha. Good luck with that.

    Befriend an usher

    Become good friends with one of the ushers and they’ll place you on the best table and make sure food gets to you.

    Sit in front 

    The people at the front are the ones who get the best available food. Get to the party early, and sit in front. If they say it’s reserved for someone, say you’re that person. 

    Impersonate a family member 

    Say you’re one of the immediate family members of the host. If mother or father doesn’t work because you look too young, say you’re a sibling.  

    ALSO READ: How To Attend And Enjoy An Owambe Party Properly

    Z FEST 2022
    Z FEST 2022
    Buy your tickets

  • Nothing can stop Nigerians from throwing elaborate parties, wearing asoebi and generally having the time of their lives. Same way, you can’t attend owambe and not find these people. 

    The fashionistas

    This one will do anything to stand out. If you’re not careful, you’ll mistake them for the celebrant. Wearing the latest style, flawless makeup and expensive jewellery, they turn heads as they go. They’re either there to represent or pepper someone. 

    The foodies

    They’re there just for the food, so imagine trying to skip them when you’re sharing? They’ll fight you. It doesn’t matter if they can’t pronounce the name of the food or have never seen it before, as long as it’s on the menu, they want it. They’re the actual embodiment of awoof dey run belle.

    RELATED: These 6 Nigerian Meals Should Be on All Owambe Menus 

    The content creators

    They don’t just attend owambes, they make sure their whole contact list attends with them. With how diligent they are in creating content, you’d wonder if they’re getting paid for it. They take pictures and videos of everything; food, decor, themselves… 

    The dancers 

    Mostly found on the bridal train or among the groomsmen, these ones just want to show off their dance moves. Their videos will end up trending, so that’s good. 

    The party crashers

    We call these ones mo gbo mo ya. They have no idea what the name of the couple is, but they were bored and heard about the party, so there they are. You’d think they’re part of the family in their best fit, and with the biggest smiles. 

    RELATED: How To (Successfully) Gatecrash An Owambe In Nigeria 

    The commentators 

    With years of owambe experience under their belt, they believe they know how everything should be. Their job is to criticise everything, from hall size to the bridal train dresses and the texture of meat. 

    The scouts

    They’re at different parties every other week, hoping to find the love of their lives. Or at least, the next person to sponsor their soft life. 

    ALSO READ: The Most Effective Ways to Avoid Aso-Ebi Billing

  • Aso-ebi — or “and co” or “uniform” — isn’t a bad idea on its own. What’s not to love about wearing colourful ‘fits that also serve as your full pass to party jollof and owambe souvenirs? 

    We’ll tell you what’s not to love: the cost. Sure, society says buying aso-ebi is a show of support but should you really be buying ₦80k aso-ebi with how bad the naira is crashing? Even bread is going on strike, these days. 

    Avoiding aso-ebi billing is an art, and here’s how you can do it:

    Don’t have friends

    Hear us out: If you have zero friends, who will disturb you about buying their wedding aso-ebi?

    Accuse your bank

    Take a page from Anna Delvey’s book and just say Emefiele has frozen your account because you didn’t get a credit alert for 60 days. 

    Blame your family

    “My mother said her pastor told her that I must not wear the same clothes as anyone else.”

    “We don’t wear blue lace in my family.”

    RELATED: 7 Situations That Make Nigerians Extra Religious

    Turn off your WhatsApp read receipts

    So you can always read and ignore any attempt to make you part with money in this Buhari era.

    Say you’re busy that day

    “Oh, your wedding is on the 5th? Chai. My dog’s vet’s neighbour is burying his dog on that same day. I’m so pained.” If they tell you to buy the aso-ebi like that, just run.

    Start crying

    Tell them all about how aso-ebi makes you remember your late family member that died while wearing aso-ebi at a burial. Anyone that forces you to buy after such a sad story is just heartless.

    Tell them you’ve not eaten 

    The trick is, immediately you notice that aso-ebi talk is coming, just start lamenting about how you’ve not eaten for three weeks. They’ll run away on their own to avoid you asking them for money.

    RELATED: 7 Very Nigerian Excuses People Use to Not Pay Back Money

    Blame the planets

    Mercury is in retrograde, Venus is rising and… look, the point is, it won’t be safe for you to go out that day. They have to understand.

    If all else fails, claim amnesia

    Just claim you don’t know them. Remember your mother said you shouldn’t have anything to do with strangers.

    NEXT READ: Eight Ways to Practice Self-Care in a Nigeria That Doesn’t Care About You

  • The only thing worse than chopping breakfast served by your lover is being denied food at an owambe. If you’ve ever experienced this, then you can relate to these pictures.

    So you’ve thought about this owambe you were invited to all week, and now you can’t wait to attend. You get there and you totally love the ambiance. Today is going to be a good day.

    You choose your seat strategically so you can avoid any stories that touch the heart

    You dance moderately so you don’t miss the real reason you’re here

    They shart sharing food and you keep your cool so you don’t look too excited

    An hour passes and you’ve still not gotten food

    But the 50+ man beside you has already wiped his plate clean. Now you’re wondering if you’re invisible.

    You swallow your pride and decide to be assertive 

    You ask for food but someone says, “I’ve served everybody here nauuu!”

    You start begging with your face

    Not all-out begging o. You just give them face so that the usher will pity you. So they agree to give you food. All is finally well.

    They come back to tell you that it’s only semo they have left

    RELATED: 13 Pictures You’ll Understand If You’ve Ever Attended An Owambe Uninvited

    You try to hold back the tears as you say, “bring it” 

    But they tell you meat has finished.

    At this point, you can’t hold back the tears anymore

    Someone sees your pain and gives you a souvenir so you don’t feel so bad

    You leave in regrets and decide to try again next Sunday

    YOU SHOULD ALSO READ: 5 Signs You Might Be a Party Hoarder

  • You have to be living under a rock not to have heard Kizz Daniel’s Buga by now. While the song has taken over charts, playlists, and clubs like every other Kizz Daniel song, Buga has also become a fave of Nigerian mummies and aunties worldwide. At this point, it’s not even our song anymore. They’ve hijacked it from us and refused to let it go. 

    We caught up with some of these aunties to talk about why Buga has them in a chokehold, and this is what they had to say for themselves. 

    “The dance is simple. The lyrics are simple. What else do I want?” 

    — Folashade, 58

    Every time I open my Instagram, you guys (millennials downwards) are always trying to kill yourselves in the name of dance and “legwork”. When it’s not like you’re Michael Jackson? 

    If I like a song, I’ll look for the dance on the internet and immediately get discouraged because it’s too hardBut with Kizz Daniel’s Buga, the dance is very easy to learn, and we’ve been doing it since my days. Go low and come back up, finish. 

    I’m too old to be somersaulting because of music. 

    “This is the perfect owambe song, simple.” 

    — Ibidun, 48

    I’ll be very angry if I go for an owambe and they don’t play Buga. What are you celebrating if we’re not doing that “lo lo lo” dance? Ko possible. I heard the song at a wedding last month, and now I play it daily in the kitchen, in the car, everywhere. Buga makes me want to dance and every time I hear “Collect your money”, I start shouting, “That’s my boy.” 

    I keep going to all these events so I can dance to the song with a crowd since I’m too old to go clubbing. Who knows, I might jam him at one of these weddings — I’ll run mad!

    RECOMMENDED: Kizz Daniel Has No Bad Songs. Here Are 10 of his Best Ones

    “After working hard all my life, I’m ready to buga” 

    — Khadija, 50

    Young people don’t understand how deep Kizz Daniel’s Buga is. Yes, we’re all dancing and my children are putting me on the internet, but that song means more to me than just the dance. I retired a while ago after more than 25 years as a civil servant. I worked hard all those years, and now, I’m travelling, attending all the owambes I can find and living a baby girl life or whatever they call it. 

    “You don work, you don try. You suppose to dey jaiye jaiye”, these lyrics from Buga describe how I’m taking on this new chapter of my life. Your generation may not get it because you’re all still working up and down. You can’t even Buga properly because of deadlines. Pele my dear. 

    “It feels good to connect to my grandson without it feeling forced.” 

    — Becky, 63

    One of the sad things about growing older is finding it difficult to connect with younger people and the things they like. I don’t understand social media and I don’t want to. And with music, my teenage grandson is constantly playing all these gragra songs that sound like people are fighting, and I don’t like them. But I liked Kizz Daniel’s Buga from the first time I heard it in his car. It’s such a sweet song that makes me feel good and relaxed. 

    My grandson is always sending me videos of people dancing to it and those videos make my day. 

    “I’m Kizz Daniel’s number one fan.” 

    — Folakemi, 42

    I’ve liked Kizz Daniel since day one. I know all the songs from Woju, even though I don’t like that Poko and that F*ck You song. But with Buga, Every time I’m in a bad mood, it just makes my shoulders  move instinctively. Then I start to dance. 

    Kizz Daniel is consistent with his sound, and everything feels intentional because I can tell he just wants listeners to have a good time. In this country where everything is going higgy hagga, Kizz Daniel’s music is good escapism. For me and my gals, Buga is our song. We need him to do a Christian version sha so I can dance to it in church during Harvest. 

    “Lyrics that I understand and aren’t sinful? Thank God!”

    — Joy, 51

    It’s hard to listen to music these days and not feel weird because of all the lewd lyrics. Everything shouldn’t be about sex and violence. Where is the joy? That’s why I like Buga. It’s a fun, happy-go-lucky song about having a good time and celebrating. The lyrics are not too fast, which makes it easy to learn. We need more songs like this. 

    ALSO READ: 7 Types of Nigerian Aunties at an Owambe

  • You don’t deserve to get invited to Owambes if you can’t make 15 words out of “Owambe” in one minute.

    “Owambe” can be rearranged into 39 different English words. How many can you get?