What cultural etiquette should I know for Lagos?
In Lagos, greet before you ask anything. 'Good morning, ma' or 'E kaaro' opens every exchange, at a market stall or in the back of an Uber. Hand over money with your right hand, and never push an open palm toward anyone, because the 'waka' is a curse. Ask before you photograph people, and cover your shoulders and knees at mosques and churches on Lagos Island.
The mistake first-timers make most in Lagos is opening with a question. Walk into a pharmacy on Awolowo Road in Ikoyi and ask 'Do you have sunscreen?' and the attendant will probably reply 'Good afternoon' first, slowly and pointedly. In Lagos the greeting always comes first, and how much of it you give depends on age. Younger Yoruba men may still lie flat before an elder, which is called dobale, and women drop to one knee, called ikunle. Nobody in Lagos expects that from a foreigner, and a small nod with 'Good morning, sir' is enough. Call any older woman 'ma', and anyone about 10 years older than you is 'Aunty' or 'Uncle', including the woman frying akara in hot palm oil by the roadside in Yaba. Using an elder's first name sounds rude in Lagos, even in an Ikoyi boardroom.
Your left hand is the second rule. Passing naira notes, a business card or a plate of jollof with the left hand looks careless in Lagos, and to an elder it looks insulting. Use your right hand, or both hands for anyone over about 50. The one gesture never to make is the waka, an open palm with the fingers spread, pushed toward someone's face: it works roughly like the middle finger, and a danfo conductor at Obalende, already shouting 'CMS! CMS!' over the generator noise, will respond in kind. Lagosians are loud and blunt with each other, and a shouted 'Oga, you dey craze?' in Ojuelegba traffic is normal. The same volume from a foreigner tends to go badly. Keep your voice level, even when a Balogun Market trader asks ₦40,000 for ankara cloth worth about half that.
Ask before you lift a camera. Traders in Lekki Market and on the Lagos Island textile lanes often wave phones away, and some will ask ₦1,000 to ₦2,000 for a portrait. Police, soldiers and military sites such as Bonny Camp on Victoria Island are firmly off limits: photographing them can get your phone searched and your pictures deleted, or leave you held at the roadside in the wet heat for an hour. Nigeria's Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act of 2014 carries sentences of up to 14 years, so same-sex couples should avoid public affection anywhere in Lagos, including the bars on Victoria Island. That said, two Nigerian men holding hands as they walk down Allen Avenue in Ikeja is ordinary friendship and nothing more.
Festivals come with their own rules. Eyo processions on Lagos Island are held to honour a dead Oba or chief, and they occur rarely. Along the route, sandals, shoes, hats and smoking are all banned, and the white-robed masquerades carry staffs called opambata and will hit offenders with them. In Ikorodu and Epe, Oro festival nights bring curfews: if your host says stay indoors, stay indoors. At an owambe party in Surulere or Lekki you'll hear talking drums and smell suya smoke, and guests 'spray' naira over the dancers. Stepping on or tearing those notes is an offence under the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, and the EFCC brought prosecutions for it in 2024. Press each note onto the dancer's damp forehead, one at a time, and let the hired collectors pick them up.
Cultural norms
Greetings in Lagos carry weight. A firm handshake with direct eye contact opens most interactions, but when meeting someone visibly older, a slight bow or a brief dip of the knee (called dobale for men or ikunle for women among the Yoruba) signals genuine respect. "E kaaro" or "E kaasan" in Yoruba earns immediate warmth even if the conversation continues in English. Asking after someone's family before getting to business is expected, not intrusive.
Dress in Lagos skews sharper than many visitors expect. For visits to the Central Mosque on Lagos Island or any church service, women should cover shoulders and knees, and men should avoid shorts. Government buildings like the Federal Secretariat in Ikoyi enforce similar standards. Outside those contexts, Lagosians dress with visible intention: showing up to a restaurant on Victoria Island in flip-flops and gym shorts reads as careless rather than casual.
On danfos and BRT buses, board decisively and keep belongings close to your body. Passing money with the left hand is considered deeply disrespectful across Nigeria; use the right hand or both. Tipping is not automatic but appreciated: ten to fifteen percent at sit-down restaurants on the Island, and rounding up for okada or Bolt rides. Photographing military checkpoints, police stations, or uniformed officers can provoke detention; always ask before pointing a camera at anyone.
Greetings
Greet before any request. 'Good morning, sir' or 'Good afternoon, ma' works anywhere in Lagos, and the Yoruba 'E kaaro' (morning), 'E kaasan' (afternoon) and 'E kaale' (evening) will earn smiles at market stalls. Call older strangers 'Aunty' or 'Uncle', shake with your right hand, and let elders offer theirs first.
Don't do this
- Asking a question before you have said good morning or good afternoon
- Passing money, food or documents with your left hand
- Making the open-palm waka gesture at anyone, even as a joke
- Calling an elder by their first name instead of sir, ma, Aunty or Uncle
- Photographing police, soldiers, military sites or market traders without permission
- Public affection between same-sex couples, which is criminalised under federal law
- Stepping on, tearing or throwing naira notes at a party
- Agreeing a price with a trader and then walking away without buying
Tipping
Tips are not required, but check your bill before you add anything: many Victoria Island and Ikoyi restaurants already include a service charge plus 7.5% VAT. Where there's no service charge, leaving around 10% is the right call. Hotel porters are worth ₦500 to ₦1,000 (under $1 at about ₦1,333 to the dollar).
Dress code
Lagosians dress sharply, and beach shorts with flip-flops will read as sloppy in Ikoyi restaurants. With 29°C heat that feels like 34°C at 79% humidity, linen handles the conditions better than any synthetic fabric. At mosques and Anglican churches on Lagos Island, cover your shoulders and knees; women visiting mosques should also bring a scarf to cover their hair.
Religious norms
Lagos is roughly half Christian and half Muslim. At the Shitta-Bey Mosque on Martins Street, remove your shoes and keep clear of the prayer lines, and avoid Friday Jumat prayers, which start around 1pm. Sunday services at the Cathedral Church of Christ on Marina can last 3 hours, so if there's any chance you'll need to leave early, sit near the back. The dawn call to prayer carries across Lagos Island around 5am.
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