With its marbled walls, exposed lightbulbs and plentiful mirrors, the bathroom at The Library, a nightclub in Lagos, Nigeria, is practically begging patrons to snap a photo.
Then it comes, a message delivered on a gold-framed sign: “No selfies in the restroom… just kidding.”
In Nigeria, bathroom selfies are no joke.
From the buzzing mega-city of Lagos to the stuffy capital Abuja and conservative Kano in the north, bars and lounges are decking out their restrooms – not just to catch up with times but also to bring in new customers.
AFP sent reporters to women’s bathrooms across Africa’s most populous country to document the trend.
Renovations have been made, mirrors rearranged and lighting adjusted. More is more: Marble and gold, sometimes of the faux variety, are popular design choices.
At Zaza, a nightlife staple, pressing a button on the bathroom wall will summon a complimentary glass of champagne that pops through a small window. It’s all part of a campaign to ease nerves – and draw smiles – among those in front of the mirror.
“The decor plays a huge role, especially for Nigerian ladies. And we try to attract as much as we can,” Johnny Franjeh, assistant general manager of Zaza, told AFP.
Inside, women adjusted the necklines of their brightly coloured dresses, swayed their hips and batted their fake eyelashes, phones in hand.
The walls are adorned with floral wallpaper and multiple mirrors, allowing for different shooting angles.
From Abuja to Kano
There is something in it for the clubs, as well: the free advertising that comes with so many people posting their selfies to social media – including influencers with massive followings.
One such influencer, known as Comiebarbie, with 100,000 followers on Instagram, admitted that one of the first things she does upon arriving to a trendy locale is to “quickly go to the restroom with my friends so I can take pictures”.
In the smartphone era, the bathroom mirror selfie might be a long-established trend.
But Lagos, a boisterous megalopolis home to more than 20 million people, has found a way to make it an over-the-top novelty – as have quieter places like Abuja, the all-work-and-no-play planned city that serves as the nation’s capital.
Psychedelic-patterned walls adorn the “selfie room”, just off the women’s restroom at A Bar Called Paper, in the upscale Maitama neighbourhood.
“The most important thing I’m looking for is a suitable angle,” said Stephanie, a 26-year-old wearing a sequined, halter-neck dress, that reflected endlessly as it bounced across multiple mirrors.
The trend extends all the way up to Kano, the cultural and economic capital of Nigeria’s mostly Muslim, largely conservative north.
At Antika, a lounge popular with the city’s youth, the dresses are looser and less revealing, their sleeves are longer andpatrons’ make-up is more subtle.
But once they make their way to the bathroom, they have plenty in common with partygoers in the south, spending long minutes playing with their reflections in mirrors carefully arranged against tropical wallpaper.
‘We invented that trend!’
Amid the current restroom arms race, there are also rivalries and claims of being first.
“We invented that trend!” Ghada Ghaith, CEO of Rococo, another Lagos haunt, told AFP.
Two weeks before opening, staff from the cabaret bar posted a photo from its bathroom.
“Maybe two hours later… we got like 200 requests for booking,” Ghaith said, with those making reservations mistaking the restroom for the restaurant itself.
It’s easy to understand the mix up: no toilets were visible in the photo, though a crystal chandelier was.
