Nigeria, May 2 -- This past Saturday was prom day in our neck of the woods. My one and only son joined hundreds of his peers to mark that peculiar American rite of passage.

But prom did not begin that evening. It began weeks earlier at the mall, a place my son would normally avoid with almost philosophical conviction.

Ugo has long regarded shopping as an unnecessary indulgence in inefficiency. In his world, one identifies a need online, executes a purchase with a click, and awaits delivery. No aimless wandering, no fitting rooms, no fluorescent-lit indecision. But this was different. This was prom. Perhaps, even if unspoken, he understood that certain moments demand participation, not optimisation. And so, he agreed to come along.

We m...