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Ciara Turns 40 in Lagos And She's Staying Through November 3. Here’s what We Know

  • Writer: Sahndra Fon Dufe
    Sahndra Fon Dufe
  • Oct 31
  • 3 min read

Ciara has touched down in Lagos, where she will be through November 3, and her arrival has already sent the city buzzing.

Ciara at Lagos fashion week 📸: Adedamola Odetara
Ciara at Lagos fashion week 📸: Adedamola Odetara

Grammy-winning artist Ciara didn't just turn 40she made it a Pan-African moment. The singer and entrepreneur touched down in Lagos, Nigeria ahead of her milestone birthday on October 25, and she's not leaving anytime soon. With plans to stay through November 3, what's unfolding is more than a celebrity getaway. It's a homecoming dressed in intentionality.

Image Ciara| Image: Atilary Studio
Image Ciara| Image: Atilary Studio

Upon arrival, Ciara was greeted by a procession of traditional drummers and dancers, an electric welcome that honored Lagos's deep cultural roots. It wasn't performative. It was immersive. And for someone who has spent two decades shaping global pop culture, the choice to root her 40th in African soil said everything without saying much at all.

Nigerian designer Kanyinsola Onalaja and American singer Ciara at Lagos Fashion Week, Oct. 29, 2025 - AFP
Nigerian designer Kanyinsola Onalaja and American singer Ciara at Lagos Fashion Week, Oct. 29, 2025 - AFP

Days later, she closed the show for Fruche at Lagos Fashion Week 2025, gliding down the runway with the kind of ease that only comes when you're exactly where you're supposed to be. The moment felt less like a cameo and more like a declaration: this chapter of her life is about connection, not just celebration.

Ciara & Russel Wilson | Image: Jesse Grant/Getty Images
Ciara & Russel Wilson | Image: Jesse Grant/Getty Images

The visit carries even deeper significance. Ciara discovered through DNA testing that her ancestry traces back to Benin, a West African nation neighboring Nigeria. In July 2025, she took that connection a step further and gained Beninese citizenship. So when she touched down in Lagos for her 40th, it wasn't just a birthday destination it was a return to land that's literally in her blood.

Ciara at Mama Nike Art Gallery, Lagos
Ciara at Mama Nike Art Gallery, Lagos

The visit carries even deeper significance. Ciara discovered through DNA testing that her ancestry traces back to Benin, a West African nation neighboring Nigeria. In July 2025, she took that connection a step further and gained Beninese citizenship. So when she touched down in Lagos for her 40th, it wasn't just a birthday destinationit was a return to land that's literally in her blood.

And she's making the most of it. With nearly two weeks planned in the city, Ciara's Lagos chapter is still unfoldingand the city is buzzing with anticipation about what comes next.

While Ciara celebrated continents away, husband Russell Wilson made sure his presence was felt. On October 25, he joined the rest of the world in honoring his wife, posting a tribute that simply read "sticking with you forever"a reminder that some love doesn't need proximity to be loud.

Ciara & Russel Wilson | Image: Hayley_FitzPatrick
Ciara & Russel Wilson | Image: Hayley_FitzPatrick

Ciara's Lagos trip isn't just tabloid fodder. It's part of a larger cultural shift where Black American celebrities are increasingly turning to the continent not as tourists, but as participants. In choosing Lagos for such a personal milestone, she joined a growing roster of artists, actors, and creatives who see Africa not as a backdrop, but as the main stage.

Her 40th wasn't just about getting older. It was about getting rooted. And in a media landscape that often flattens Black identity into trends and talking points, Ciara's extended Lagos stay stands out as both stylish and substantive.

She celebrated, she walked, she connected and she's still there, writing this chapter in real time

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