When people ask me what to plant first, I never start with the hardest thing. I start with what forgives a beginner. A balcony in Lagos gets heat, sudden rain, and a few hours of hard sun — the plants that do best are the ones that shrug all of that off.
Ugu (fluted pumpkin) is my first pick every time. It grows quickly, you eat the leaves within weeks, and it keeps giving as you harvest. Scent leaf (nchanwu) is next — one plant perfumes a whole corner and follows you into the kitchen for pepper soup.
Then peppers. Rodo and shombo love our sun and fruit for months from a single pot. Tomatoes reward a little more attention with a lot more food. And if you have partial shade, efo (spinach) fills it happily.
Plant two of these, not five. A small garden you actually tend beats a big one you feel guilty about.