By Pascal Oparada
When it comes to showing off, especially on big days like weddings, count on Nigerians to make you droll. Their showmanship is not restricted to their homeland, but everywhere they are found in the diaspora. And there is no where they exhibit their lavish lifestyle more than at weddings.
Every bride wants to look a million dollars when they tie the knot – and affluent women from Nigeria are spending just that to achieve it on their big days.
According to a London-based wedding planner, super-rich couples from Nigeria can easily blow a small fortune on their nuptials, from spending £100,000 on a designer wedding dress to £150,000 on alcohol.
In-demand event maestro CEO and founder of Prive Luxury Events, Elizabeth Aisien says London has become the destination of choice for Africa’s wealthy elite when they tie the knot.
‘It’s a competition, people want something like “wow, she arrived by plane”. The bride wants to look good and wear the best of everything.’
As a result, she said, brides will pay around £100,000 for a bespoke dress by a designer like Vera Wang and £475,000 on diamond jewellery.
She added that it is not just the bride who will push the boat out on the gems they wear to accessorise an expensive outfit.
‘The other women want to make a statement, “I wore this diamond, my diamond is bigger than yours”,’ Elizabeth explained.
This means at an average Nigerian wedding, £150,000 will be spent on booze.
And it’s not just food and drink lavished on the guests. While at British weddings, attendees may get a token favour like a chocolate, at affluent Nigerian weddings, they will get a gift bag worth thousands.
Such a bag might contain a £345 perfume, a cashmere scarf worth £350 and a £5,000 watch.
With such luxuries being given out at weddings, it is perhaps no surprise that according to Tatler, every third pound currently spent in Harrods is by a Nigerian.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy as the Niger Delta region in the south holds some of the world’s richest oil reserves. A recent world wealth study found the number of millionaires in Nigeria has risen about 305 percent since 2000.
Many of affluent Nigerians are moving to London – helping the city become home to the most billionaires than any other city in the world.
Presenters Ruth Langsford and her husband Eamonn were tasked with investigating this uber-rich lifestyle for a television show.
While Ruth went wedding shopping in designer stores with Elizabeth on behalf of her affluent clients, Eamonn was flown to meet Russian billionaire Emin Agalarov in Moscow via his private jet.
Eamonn experiences the super-extravagant lifestyle of an oligarch getting a tour of his $20m home, riding in his supercar and attending the extravagant parties he hosts.
But he learns it doesn’t always buy happiness as Emin explains how he has to travel everywhere with security guards as those as rich as him are constantly in fear of being kidnapped and being held to ransom. Those with children are particularly at risk of having their offspring snatched.
Despite not being hard-up themselves, the celebrity couple admitted gaining an insight into the world of the super-rich was like nothing they had ever seen before.
Ruth said: ‘Getting into the world of the super-rich in London has been a revelation to me. It reminds me of Harry Potter, there is the wizard world and the muggles – and that is what it is like, the international super rich and us.’