- Sector worth N500 billion
- Industry bigger than FG’s imagination – Stakeholders
With many Nigerians paying less attention to the investment op- portunities in night businesses owing to a combination of factors, a painstaking investigation by The Point has revealed that the economic value of night businesses in the country, captured in its formal sector, has hit the N600 billion mark.
The industry, which is growing at an impressive rate, according to inside sources, is also said to be witnessing a steady influx of foreign investors.
Indeed, business concerns in the sector are said to be positioning their brands to grow the industry to generate as much as over N5 trillion annually as revenue for the Federal Government, as it obtains in the United States.
Top among the night businesses that are now grossing millions of naira in profit for investors are gaming centres, which include casino, sport betting and lottery; night clubs, bars and lounges, restaurants and hotels.
The informal sector of the business is not left out either, as it is said to have grown past the infant stage.
Many Nigerians consider the once bubbly night life, which obtained in the past in most parts of the country, dead, no thanks to a combination of factors, prime among which are er- ractic power supply, widespread in- security, harsh operating conditions and a receding economy.
But more foreign investors are po- sitioning to take advantage of the immense opportunities in the industry. According to sources, scores of investors from America, South Africa and Europe have spread their investment tentacles across Lagos, Abuja, Imo, Rivers and Bayelsa, among other major cities in West Africa’s largest economy.
Some of the businesses owned and managed by the expatriates and their Nigerian counterparts include Gaming centres (Casino, sport bet- ting and lottery), night clubs, bars & lounge, restaurants and hotels, among others.
While the owners of these businesses are investing in expansion of the firms, opening several branches across major cities, their counterparts in the brothel and strippers club segment are also smiling to the bank, making gains from a business many believe should be illegal – prostitution.
To boost their clientele base, findings revealed that the operators of brothels go as far as ‘importing’ ladies with good female endowments from neighbouring Republic of Benin, Ni- ger Republic, Ghana and Togo to join some Nigerians in the business.
Nightlife busiNess worth over N500 billioN – stakeholders
As far as operators in the nightlife business industry are concerned, the businesses are money spinners worth over N500 billion.
Now that the FG has expressed determination to diversify the econo- my, the stakeholders and experts have called on more investors to come and explore the diverse opportunities in the industry.
The President, Nigeria Gaming Association, Yahaya Maikori, a law- yer, told The Point that the presence of different investors in the nightlife business had given the industry a facelift.
According to him, the industry, which is worth over N500 billion, is bigger than what the government can imagine because the gaming business that is only a segment of the industry can conveniently generate over N100 billion annually for the government.
“A lot of businesses generate mil- lions of naira on a daily basis at night and that is what makes the industry unique. Traditionally, when we talk about the industry, the average Ni- gerian tends to limit it to only when people drink alcohol in bars or stake money but it goes way beyond that. Aside from restaurants and clubs that operate at night, we have Casinos, poker, and lottery. And that means the industry has gone beyond its traditional perception,” the entertainment lawyer said.
Also, the Managing Director Spronks Creations, organisers of the Nigeria International Wine & Spirit fair, Mrs. Aderonke Sobodu, told The Point that the consumption figure of wine and spirit in the country, despite the economic recession was valued at over $500 million.
She added that more than 80 per cent of the drinks factored in the said value, were consumed at different nightclubs and bars across the country.
“The growth and acceptance of the industry into our social lifestyle has made the country one of the fast emerging markets in the world, which in turn offers great opportunity for tourism, trade and commerce. It created the need to expose indigenous wine and spirit producers to the global trade environment, with Nigeria ranking as a fast growing market,” she said.
According to her, this development spurred her company to partner some International Oenologists (wine experts) to explore the Nigerian market. “We are exploring the possibility of growing and producing the first commercial wine range in West Africa. Obudu Plateau, found on the Oshie Ridge of the Sankwala Mountain range, has been identified as a potential location to explore wine production based on the landscape and altitude of this region,” she disclosed.
Welcome to hotspots across the country
These are some amazing spots and tales of different night businesses in major cities of the country.
Lagos
Known as the nation’s entertainment hub, Lagos hosts both head- quarters of economic and entertain- ment institutions in the country. The commercial capital of the country, which houses about 20 million peo- ple, hosts major companies in the hos- pitality, games, club and restaurant segments, which makes it a city that never sleeps.
Some of the bustling night spots in the city include the Federal Palace Ho- tel & Casino, Mr. Shina Peller’s Club Quilox, Victoria Island; Jacaranda Ca- sino (Sheraton hotel), Mobolaji Bank- Anthony road, Ikeja; Femi Anikulapo- Kuti’s African Shrine, Ikeja; Tuface Idibia’s Rumours Lounge, GRA, Ikeja; and Movida Lounge, Vegas Club and Peka, all in Ikeja.
With over N1 billion worth of investment, Quilox appears to be the most celebrated nightclub in Nigeria. Little wonder, top politicians and celebrities cannot afford to turn down its invitations.
Some of its patrons are said to include Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, D’ Banj, Tuface, Wizkid, Davido, Olamide, Ramsey Noah, among others.
“Night business in Nigeria is lucrative and we are doing well. If we are not, we won’t be able to build our facility on Ozumba Mbadiwe on the Island. Also, we closed the club dur- ing Ramadan and reopened when the fasting ended. Yet, our clientele base never dropped. We are not expensive but unique in style,” Peller told The Point.
To stay above competition, some of the clubs have designed different Unique Selling Propositions to attract more patrons. While the likes of GET Arena, Rumours Lounge and Nite- shift Coliseum, among others, host ‘A’ list artistes on certain days of the week to spark up the atmosphere, others like The Place adopted a different USP. With three other outlets across the state, the lounge offers other side attractions for its teeming patrons.
“Depending on the occasion of our clients, we can arrange about 50 ladies to keep the company of their guests, free of charge. But if any guest desires to take them home, the charges will be at the discretion of the lady. Since we introduced this innovation, our clientele base has grown by over 50 per cent,” the manager of the club, popularly called Ajax told our cor- respondent.
Aside from The Place, about 80 per cent of the night clubs along Allen Avenue also use strippers as baits to boost patronage for their businesses.
Though, this segment of the market might not be properly regulated but industry watchers believe the management of the clubs makes more profit than others that did not adopt such survival strategy.
Without any doubt, the centre of excellence is irresistible to many operators of night businesses. With three outlets in Abuja, Imo and Rivers States, the Group-Managing Director of Jacaranda Casino, Mr. John Storey, could not neglect Lagos as he opened a game centre worth over $5 million in the city.
“I decided to open another outlet in Lagos because of my love for Lagos residents and Nigeria. While Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa, the residents are strong with active social lifestyle.
“I observed that most of the five stars hotels in Lagos are boring without games like Casino. We have been here for about nine years now and this is out fourth casino. There are prospects in the business because residents are not used to nightlife. With this opening, Lagos has become a much more fun place to be,” he told The Point.
PORT-HARCOURT, RIVERS
Night businesses in the Garden city, which were almost at a halt be- fore the administration of Mr. Rotimi Amaechi due to activities of militants prior to 2007, were revived after the former governor smoked the hoodlums out of the town.
Since then, night businesses had been colourful in most parts of the city as different bars, restaurants and night clubs operate from 8pm till dawn. Most patrons begin their evenings at Silverbird cinema to bars and most time end them in some car wash-turned night clubs.
Both alcohol and non-alcohol drinks at the spots cost double or more of the prices they are sold in other parts of the state. For instance, bottles of Heineken beer and Hennessy that are sold at N300 and N7, 000 in other parts of the state, go for N800 and N25, 000 respectively at the hotspots.
Most times, the men hang out with ladies, who come in different shapes, heights and shades with interesting tags.
Some are called 100 level and these are the most popular and patronised. They are ladies between ages 18 and 24 and they are seen in their radiance and beauty at red light districts in new GRA area of Port Harcourt, where most of the clubs are found. Some of the spots are Barracuda, GRA, Bottleggers, Charlie’s, Illusions night club, Orazi, and Le Meridien Ogeyi Place, among others.
FCT, ABUJA
The ambience of the country’s power capital and the increasing political activities going on in the Rock City, raises night crawlers’ enthusiasm in staying through the night in different hotspots.
From Wuse to Garki, Utako to Jabi, Maitama to Asokoro, Area 1 to Apo-Gudu districts, there are state of the art lounges, bar and restaurants, where some adventurous married men are tempted to hang out with friends.
The well-arranged, fanciful chairs and ladies of different sizes that hang around the entrances of the bars, had often swept some married men off their feet and made them keep late nights.
“Sincerely, I have been trapped once and made up my mind it won’t happen again. I went to Movida lounge, Kubwa, with some friends just to take few bottles of beer but what I met blew my mind. The ladies were just strolling around with revealing clothes on and I lost control when a heavily-chested lady gave me a hug,” a client of the lounge, who preferred anonymity, told The Point.
Kubwa is the fastest growing sat- ellite town in Abuja and one of the hotspots in the seat of government. Investigation revealed that aside from the existing hotels, a lot of residential houses have been converted to hotels.
“There is no street where you would not see one or two hotels in the area. These and the lounges in the area have boosted the businesses of sex workers,” a source said.
“The activities going on in areas like Zone 4 are also part of the night businesses in the city. The ‘Mallams’ in the area are always on ground with neatly arranged cartons of Indomie noodles, crates of eggs, spices, gas cookers and other cooking utensils by the road sides.
“While I prepare the meal, my partner scouts for customers, who are either going to the club or passing by. The business is lucrative because we make an average profit of over N10, 000 daily. And that is enough to take care of our families back in Imo and ourselves here,” Emmanuel Okafor, 22, told The Point.
KANO
Though, sale of alcohol is forbid- den in Kano, the atmosphere in the northern city changes in the evening. As soon as the sun sets, a reasonable number of both Muslim and Christian residents of the ancient city troop out, seating at bars with their cups filled with beer and other alcoholic drinks.
Most of the bars are around a suburb, set aside for non-Muslim residents, Sabon-Gari. Here, alcohol sellers are tolerated by the city’s Islamic law enforcement agency, Hisbah.
“We get customers from around 8pm till the early hours of the morning everyday of the week. The business booms because both men and women come here to drink and the place is usually filled. We make an average sale of N50, 000 daily,” the owner of the bar, Mr. Uche Okoreocha said.
However, investigations revealed that some of Okoreocha’s clients were Hausa Muslims, who visit the bar to sip two or more bottles of beer each. “Most of them cover their faces when coming to drink because they are afraid of the Hisbah, who may embar- rass them,” he added.
