Davido in demonstration of star power, rakes in N114m from fans in five hours

By OBINNA EZUGWU

When earlier in the day, Nigerian pop star, David Adeleke, popularly known by his stage name, Davido, tweeted a request to his 9.7 million followers on social media platform, Twitter, it had seemed like a regular joke.

“If u know I’ve given you a hit song .. send me money …. una know una selves oo,” he wrote in a tweet he accompanied with laughing emojies.

But as it has turned out, it’s not no laughing matter. He would share his account number in a subsequent tweet, and within minutes, funds came flying in. And five hours later, his fans had sent him over N114 million, and still counting.

Many, including rapper M.I Abaga, and numerous celebrities from Nigeria and beyond, sent sums ranging from N1m to over 20m each with messages of appreciation.

“You people that got a hit song from David know say it’s worth way more!!,” M.I wrote in a tweet via @MI_Abaga, that accompanied a screenshot of N1million he gifted the singer. “I want my own hit song with Davido. Fire is one of my favorite songs of all time.”

It’s a demonstration of star power that has wowed many on social media, and jokes about how investing the “Assurance” singer could be a worthwhile investment is already a trending topic on the microblogging application.

“Imagine investing in $DVDO?” wondered Victor Asemota, a tech expert. “Let me just go back to sleep. This one pass me. This is already one house in North Carolina.”

But even the singer himself is surprised by the outcome of what was perhaps just a random joke, or an attempt to test people’s love for him. As the funds piled up, he expressed amazement at the show of love.

“I know say una love me but una love me like this??” he wrote. But he was in for yet more surprises. Soon the funds increased at such a rapid rate that brought him, he said, to tears.

“I’m actually crying !! Just be good to pple man !!!! God !,” he wrote subsequently. “I really love you guys man !!!!”

Yet the funds haven’t stopped coming, and could yet top N150m in a few hours, all be it money earned from a random tweet jokingly soliciting for funds from fans.