An Alaga Ijoko or Alaga Iduro costs ₦100,000–₦300,000 for a standard Yoruba traditional wedding in 2026, and ₦500,000–₦700,000 for the well-known names families request by reputation. You're hiring two of them, one per family, so budget ₦200,000–₦600,000 for the pair. That fee is separate from your MC, and confusing the two is the single most common mistake couples make.
Here's the thing nobody explains properly until you're three weeks out: the Alaga isn't entertainment. She's the person who makes the ceremony legally and culturally recognisable to both families. She reads the proposal letter, calls the prostrations, negotiates the gate, and tells your father-in-law's people when they've knelt long enough. Get her wrong and the whole engagement feels flat. Figures below are from ElitePlanners.ng's verified vendor network, updated September 2026.
The Alaga Iduro ("the one who stands") represents the groom's family and stays on her feet, presenting his people and their gifts. The Alaga Ijoko ("the one who sits") represents the bride's family, sits with them, and controls the gate: she decides when the groom's party may enter and what they must do first.
The names are literal, which helps once someone tells you. Iduro stands because she's the visiting party's advocate, working the floor. Ijoko sits because she's home, and home doesn't get up to greet you.
In practice the two of them run a scripted back-and-forth that can last ninety minutes: the letter from the groom's family read aloud, the bride's family's reply, the prostrations, the presentation of the traditional marriage list, the calling out of the groom's friends, the bride's entrance with her age-mates, the ring, the cake, the prayers. The good ones make it funny. The very good ones make your grandmother cry and still finish on time.
You hire both. Some families try to save money by having one Alaga cover both sides. I'd avoid it. The whole form of the ceremony is two families in structured negotiation, and one woman playing both parts turns it into a monologue.
Alaga fees run ₦100,000–₦300,000 each for a standard Lagos or Ibadan traditional wedding in 2026. Established names with a following charge ₦250,000–₦700,000. Destination and diaspora bookings, where she travels, start around ₦800,000 plus flights and accommodation.
| Tier | Who this is | Fee per Alaga | Typical pair total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community / church-recommended | Experienced, no social following | ₦60K–₦120K | ₦120K–₦240K |
| Standard professional | Full regalia, own drummer contacts | ₦150K–₦300K | ₦300K–₦600K |
| Sought-after name | Booked months out, Instagram presence | ₦350K–₦700K | ₦700K–₦1.4M |
| Destination / diaspora | Travels to you | ₦800K+ | ₦1.6M+ plus travel |
What moves the price is reputation and calendar pressure, not much else. An Alaga who's booked every Saturday from October to December has no reason to discount, and November in Lagos is the tightest month of the year.
One cost people forget: the talking drummer. Many Alagas work with a regular ayan and will quote you a package, but plenty quote themselves only and leave you to book the drummer separately at ₦80,000–₦250,000. Ask which it is before you agree a number. Same for her aso-oke: a few expect the family to provide her outfit as part of the engagement.
She runs the entire traditional segment: welcoming both families, reading and answering the proposal letter, directing the groom's prostration, presenting and verifying the marriage list items, introducing the bride, and handing over to prayers and the cutting of the cake. Roughly 60 to 120 minutes, start to finish.
A rough running order, so you can see where your money goes:
The bit that surprises first-timers is how much of it is negotiation theatre. The Ijoko will find something wrong with the gifts. She's meant to. The Iduro will plead. The groom's people will "settle" her with cash. None of it is real conflict and all of it is the point, two families performing the work of becoming one, in front of witnesses.
That's also why an Alaga who can't improvise is worth avoiding. The script is fixed; the room isn't.
Book six to nine months ahead for a Saturday between October and December, meet her before you pay, and get the fee, the drummer, the arrival time, and the outfit expectation in one written message. Pay a deposit of no more than 50%.
What to check, in the order it'll matter:
On payment: transfer to a business account where you can, not a personal one, and never clear the full fee before the day. Nigerian bank transfers have no chargeback. Once it's gone, it's gone, which is the whole argument for a written agreement, covered in what to check before you pay a vendor deposit.
The Alaga is one of the few line items on a Nigerian wedding budget where paying a bit more genuinely shows. A good one turns a two-hour formality into the part of the day people quote back to you for years.
Book her early, get the drummer question settled in writing, and tell her the truth about when your family will actually arrive.
Your turn: did you use one Alaga or two, and what did you pay in your city? Real numbers in the comments help the next couple more than any price guide can.
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