Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and one of its youngest, which makes it a place of constant arrival. People move for university, for the National Youth Service, for work, for a fresh start — and every one of those moves quietly resets a social circle back to zero.
Friendship here rarely starts with a cold introduction. It travels through networks: a cousin, a colleague, a church or mosque congregation, a schoolmate who vouches for you. Being brought along is the mechanism. Food and hosting do most of the emotional work, and a party guest list is far more porous than visitors expect — arriving as somebody's plus one is normal, not an imposition.
Lagos is the country's social engine, a metropolis of around 17 million people split culturally between the Island and the Mainland, with a tech scene in Yaba, an arts scene running from Freedom Park to Art X Lagos, and a December season so intense it has its own name. But the same patterns hold across the country: show up somewhere repeatedly, accept the invitation, and let one person introduce you to five.