Inside Lagos’s top private members’ clubs

This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s new guide to Lagos

In Lagos, a city often overwhelmed by traffic and energy-sapping humidity, most people need to find a sanctuary amid the chaos. For the city’s privileged one per cent, private members’ clubs spread across the wealthy neighbourhoods of Ikoyi and Victoria Island provide an oasis of calm.

Belonging to a club in Lagos is a sign that you’re a card-carrying member of the city’s elite, and so virtually every industrialist, financier and politician joins at least one. There are clubs dating from colonial-era British rule where the city’s grandees congregate and newer ones catering to the city’s up-and-coming members of high society, typically those working in finance, oil and gas, arts and technology.

Gaining access to them usually requires an invitation from a member, who is allowed a certain number of guests. Thankfully, if you’re here on business, there’s a very good chance one of the people you’re meeting belongs to at least one of the city’s best clubs. 

Here we outline four of the city’s clubs and help you to decode what to expect when you receive an invitation. First to note is that while most of these places have no official dress code, Lagos is a city where people invariably measure your standing based on how well dressed you are. It’s important to be presentable, preferably eschewing the suit for a smart-casual get-up or, to win plaudits as a foreigner, be decked in traditional Nigerian attire.

Lagos Polo Club

1 Polo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos 106104

• Good for: Polo enthusiasts and occasionally bumping into someone who runs a major national bank, oil and gas company or just about any large enterprise 

• Not so good for: It can be hard to get into. The club has just under 400 members with a wait-list of about 70. Only about 5 per cent of members are women, and the club says it is actively looking to diversify its clientele

• FYI: While primarily a polo club that hosts tournaments (such as the NPA Lagos International Polo Tournament, which attracts teams from across Nigeria as well other countries including Argentina, the UK and South Africa), the club also hosts a bustling party every quarter called Reminisce and invites notable members to give talks as part of a series called In the Saddle

• Fees: Memberships from N2.5mn ($1,630/£1,260). (All fees payable in naira.)

• Website; Directions

At this exclusive grand old club established in 1904 by British naval officers, it takes six to 12 months for an application to be approved after being proposed by a current member. Bode Makanjuola, the club’s president, admits that belonging to it “is a status symbol, [it’s] a place to be seen”. Underscoring Makanjuola’s point that society’s richest and most important are either members or frequent guests, the walls of the clubhouse are filled with photos spanning decades of notable Nigerians enjoying themselves. Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, and Wale Edun, the country’s finance minister, are just some of those who can be spotted on the walls. It’s the sort of place the Duke and Duchess of Sussex pop into when they’re in Lagos.

The club consists of a polo field, a restaurant and bar service and a clubhouse with snooker. The food, which is mostly Nigerian, is great and surprisingly pocket-friendly. It is busiest from November to June, when the polo season runs. When polo is on, the club is a beehive of well-dressed people in smart-casual clothes, with men in Ralph Lauren polo shirts and baseball hats, tieless suits or traditional Nigerian attire and women in colourful dresses. 

It’s quieter during the rainy season, but members still visit to socialise when the games aren’t on. Most are executives working in finance, oil and gas and are often politically connected. Members of Nigeria’s military government used to frequent it before the capital was moved to Abuja three decades ago.

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Gaia Africa

6a Agoro Odiyan Street, Victoria Island, Lagos 101241

• Good for: Building a network with some of the city’s most powerful women and connecting with C-suite executives

• Not so good for: Those looking for a social club. While Gaia Africa hosts mini clubs such as gourmet club, style club, arts and culture club, it is unabashedly focused on helping its members prosper professionally

• Fees: There are two membership tiers for the club’s 200 or so members. Emerald members, who are typically C-suite executives and board members with an average age of 48, pay U$2,000 in joining fees and a subsequent annual fee of $1,000. Ruby, targeted at senior managers, costs U$1,000 in application fees and $650 from the next year. (All fees payable in naira.)

• Website; Directions

Founded in 2018, Gaia Africa prides itself on being Lagos’s first women-only members’ club. Its purpose, says head of operations Mena Imasekha, is to provide a space for professional women to connect and exchange ideas about the world of work in a society still heavily structured in favour of men. “Women are shut out of too many conversations,” says Imasekha. “Because women connect differently, we’re providing a space for them to connect among themselves.”

On the ground floor of its building in the business district of Victoria Island, Gaia has a restaurant called Gaby Lagos that serves an “evolved fusion” menu and is also open to the general public. The club itself is spread across three floors, with high ceilings, modern art on the walls and delightfully furnished interiors, including chairs with leather sourced from Italy. Members have access to a lounge, meeting rooms, a fitness studio with a steam room and (for an extra cost) a massage room.

The club hosts about 15 events a month, including Gentlemen’s Thursday, where prominent male executives are invited to discuss their area of expertise. About 40 per cent of members work in finance but there are chief executives from medical services and other companies, and creatives and public officials are also welcomed. There are about 150 members who are described by Imasekha as “pretty big punchers”, and the club works with consultancies looking to help companies fill board seats with female leaders.

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Mìlíkì

7b Etim Inyang Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos 101241

• Good for: People looking for quiet and calm in Lagos. It welcomes creatives and intellectuals. Mìlíkì also has the vibe of the first spot to visit on an extended night out

• Not so good for: Mìlíkì is unmarked outside and can be hard to find for newcomers 

• Costs: There are three membership tiers. Individual subscriptions cost $1,200 a year, and family memberships cost $1,000 per family member, including spouses and children. Corporate memberships allow businesses to add three staff members and the organisation itself for $1,200 per annum. Each tier comes with a one-time $500 enrolment fee. (All fees are payable in naira.)

• Website; Directions

About a ten-minute drive from Gaia Africa and also on Victoria Island, Mìlíkì welcomes people who are “cool, trendy and chill”, in the words of Ariadne Koshoni, operations manager and daughter of its founder.

While other clubs loudly trumpet their presence, Mìlíkì is easy to miss on the quiet street where it sits. The building is unmarked; a dark-brown, carved-wood door serves as its entrance. This is intentional and part of the club’s design to signify that it is a “sanctuary away from Lagos”, says Koshoni. It is so low-key that it typically relies on word of mouth. Mìlíkì has about 500 “Patrons” (as it calls its members), many of whom are in their mid 30s to early 40s and work in culture and finance. 

When you enter the club, the intensity of the city vanishes. The lights are warm and low — almost a bit too low — and soft jazz is playing unobtrusively in the background. Mìlíkì occupies two floors, and has an outside terrace where African art and textiles adorn the walls. Inside the building there is an assortment of meeting rooms and lounges where members relax and wine and dine into the night. The club regularly hosts music and crafts events and talks, and has a gallery where artists exhibit their work.

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Capital Club 

6 Elsie Femi pearse Street, off Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos

• Good for: A high-end experience of Lagos

• Not so good for: Membership is not cheap even by the standards of other clubs in Lagos, and only the richest and best-connected are invited to join

• FYI: It is part of an international network of over 250 clubs to which members have access, including in Nairobi, Houston and Dubai

• Fees: Annual memberships ranges from $4,000 to nearly $15,000, and there’s a lifetime-membership fee of $44,000. (All fees are payable in naira.)

• Website; Directions

If one club embodies Lagos at its most opulent and lavish, it is Capital Club in the business district of Victoria Island. The first time I went was for a meeting a year ago, and one of Nigeria’s most senior politicians was sitting by himself enjoying lunch — an indication of the clientele here. Unlike many establishments that cater to the wealthy in Nigeria, Capital Club is elegantly furnished, with no hint of gaudy extravagance, the indoor plants and contemporary African art providing a serene ambience.

Sally Awosika, consultant for events development and curation, tells me members range from oil and gas executives to “almost every bank managing director”. She estimates that about 30 per cent of the members work in oil and gas.

“There was a need for a business club,” Awosika says. “Our members were tired of the lack of privacy” elsewhere. “This club is not just for everyone.”

Capital Club offers events including panel discussions, wine tastings and jazz evenings, and there are meeting rooms, a restaurant, lounges and an outdoor terrace. The restaurant serves a wide array of cuisines. Members also enjoy exclusive discounts and savings at hotels and car rental services.

Aanu Adeoye is the FT’s west and central Africa correspondent

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