A Lagos rave rewrites the rules of nightlife, drawing young Nigerians priced out of club culture

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — On a recent Friday night, thousands of mostly young people trooped into a large auditorium in Lekki, an upscale part of Lagos.

Inside, it was hard to discern the faces of people just meters away. The whole hall was dark, lit only by flashing green strobe lights from the stage. Those gathered had come together for therapy.

But this was Group Therapy, a popular rave in Lagos, where revelers come seeking a different party scene they wouldn't find anywhere in Nigeria's commercial heart of Lagos.

Lagos’ nightlife scene had, for decades, been dominated by table culture, a club experience that prioritizes how much people spend on drinks and prime seating. The party environment encourages a competitive atmosphere that young people who live in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, say has shut them out amid skyrocketing inflation.

At Group Therapy, there are no tables. Revelers in Lekki danced shoulder to shoulder. There was only one small bar, selling drinks for much less than the typical Lagos nightclub.

“At raves, the dance floor is present. You go to a usual Lagos party, and there is no dance floor,” DJ Aniko, the founder of Group Therapy, told The Associated Press. “We barely have spaces to just dance, spaces you can just go to literally have a nice time. Most places you have to make a reservation, or book a table, it is a lot more complicated.”

Yetunde Onikoyi, 28, started going to raves last year.

“Ever since then, I have been hooked by the neck; it is like a chokehold. I always want to be here,” Onikoyi said.

The nightclub culture has been determined by a table culture where partying is often a rat race of who buys the most drinks at the most expensive prices, and seats are reserved in a multitier system, including VVIP, VIP and the regulars.

A bottle of a drink can cost anywhere between 100,000 naria ($72.34) to nearly a million naira, thereby pricing out most of the young residents navigating a tough economic terrain. A parade of bartenders hoisting drinks with an LED board naming the table for some of the highest spenders of the night. A ticket for Group Therapy only costs 21,000 naira ($15.19), without the pressure to purchase drinks.

Experts say raves have grown in response to the table culture at clubs.

“Raves are more democratic,” said Oluwamayowa Idowu, founder of Culture Custodian, a leading culture publication in Lagos. “What this says is that people don’t have the purchasing power to sustain a club lifestyle. Clubs are still open and busy, but just generally in today’s climate, there is more of a focus on you enjoying yourself as opposed to you performing enjoying yourself.”

Aniko told the AP that several patrons have reached out to create separate seats, requests which they have declined on several occasions.

“Finding a place that still focuses on the human aspects of things, as against the materialism or need to amass as much as possible, is always a blessing,” said Dayo Williams, a consultant who had come to the party.

Each DJ worked their decks from the late night to early morning, blaring out an endless loop of high-tempo beats that electrically charged the hall, rising to a pulsating crescendo before dovetailing into another loop. The sea of heads bopped rhythmically and bodies swayed wildly.

Since around 2022 after the post-pandemic crossover of South African music genres, DJs have infused African sonic elements into house music, a subgenre of electronic dance music that has been a choice for raves in Lagos. The raves, deemed more inclusive than clubs, have become prominent among the younger generation, who have railed against Nigeria’s conservative society.

House music “evokes feelings,” said Zia Yusuf, a content writer and creator who attended. “You just connect to the music, and you connect to the music with other people who connect to the music with you.”

Culture experts regard it as one of the crossovers of South African musical influence, similar to amapiano.

Nigeria has, in recent years, taken the spotlight at global stages with an explosive rise of its artists, exporting its music across the world, but it has also, in turn, imported several genres in recent years. The choice of house music is deliberate, according to Aniko. Aniko doesn't want musicians to control Group Therapy like they often do in big clubs, sometimes previewing unreleased songs or dictating the audience’s choice for the night.

“Once you are reliant on the mainstream industry for the music, the mainstream creeps into the space,” Aniko said.

People dance during a Group Therapy rave in Lekki, an upscale part of Lagos, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

People dance in an auditorium to house music during a rave known as Group Therapy in Lekki, an upscale part of Lagos, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

DJ Aniko dances before performing at a Group Therapy rave in Lekki, an upscale part of Lagos, Nigeria, early Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

People dance to house music during a Group Therapy rave in Lekki, an upscale part of Lagos, Nigeria, early Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

People arrive for a Group Therapy rave in Lekki, an upscale part of Lagos, Nigeria, early Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas said late Thursday he was withdrawing from his reelection race, after having admitted an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide, but he vowed to finish out his term in Congress.

He had faced calls from GOP leadership to end his reelection bid, and from others in Congress to resign.

“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election,” Gonzales said in a statement posted late Thursday to X.

The move is the latest in a quickly changing situation that stunned Capitol Hill and resulted in a House Ethics Committee investigation into his conduct. Gonzales' decision to bow out of the race appears to clear the field. On Tuesday, he had been forced into a May runoff against Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and YouTube gun-rights influencer who narrowly lost to him in the 2024 primary.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and the GOP leadership earlier Thursday had called on Gonzales to withdraw from reelection after Gonzales, a day earlier, acknowledged a relationship that has upturned the political world in his home state and in Washington.

“We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues,” said Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Whip Tom Emmer, and GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain in a statement.

“In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for reelection.”

Johnson, R-La., has been under enormous pressure from his own GOP lawmakers to take action, and several Republicans have already called for Gonzales to step aside. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has introduced two resolutions to punish Gonzales. The first seeks to remove him from his assignments on the House Appropriations and Homeland Security committees, while the second seeks to censure him.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, meanwhile, said he would support expelling Gonzales from the House, a rare step that requires a two-thirds vote from the chamber.

GOP leaders notably did not call for Gonzales to resign from office as they struggle to maintain their slim majority in the House, which they hold by only a handful of seats.

Their move came after Gonzales, appearing on the “Joe Pags Show,” was asked whether he had a relationship with the aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles.

Santos-Aviles, 35, died after setting herself on fire in the backyard of her home in Uvalde, Texas. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled her death a suicide.

“I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said.

The congressman, now in his third term, had said he would not step down in response to the allegations, telling reporters recently that there will be opportunities for all the details and facts to come out.

Gonzales, a father of six, first won his seat in 2020 after retiring from a 20-year career in the Navy that included time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the interview broadcast Wednesday, Gonzales said he had not spoken to Santos-Aviles since June 2024. She died in September 2025.

“I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing, and in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales went on to say he had reconciled with his wife, Angel, and has asked God to forgive him. He also said he looked forward to the Ethics Committee investigation.

Johnson and GOP leadership urged that committee to “act expeditiously.”

Under House ethics rules, lawmakers may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House under their supervision.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, speaks during a news conference about school safety enhancements at North East Independent School District in front of the new Wilshire Safety Training Center Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (Blaine Young/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)