Davido Tests Celebrity Power, Looks to Raise N200m on Social Media

One of Nigeria’s A-list hip-hop acts, David Adeleke, who goes by the stage name, Davido, on Wednesday set the social media ablaze with a N100 million challenge to mark his birthday this year, but ended up surprising himself with a sweeping response, which not only saw him surpassing his initial target but setting a new one in the region of N200 million.

As at Wednesday night, what had started like a familiar and casual social media challenge, when he asked his friends and supporters across the board to “bless him with N1million each”, would later turn into a wild competition on the social space as celebrities and socialites competed to bless Davido to the tune of N140 million, monies paid into his Wema Bank account.

THISDAY checks revealed that the singer had raked in N140 million and was gunning for N200 million, a new target set in the wake of surpassing the first one.
Soon, after the challenge had gathered momentum and taken the number one spot in practically all the known social apps, Wema Bank reportedly invited Davido for a chat as announced on his verified Twitter page.

Although the outcome of the meeting was not made public, what was the talk of the town was the influence the singer wielded to have elicited such a quick response from friends, fans, families and colleagues.

Prominent businessman and philanthropist, Mr. Femi Otedola, was among those that participated in the challenge; His Royal Majesty, Oba Elegushi, Obi Iyiegbu better known as Obi Cubana; Fuji maestro, Pasuma; Larry Gaaga, Patoranking, Don Jazzy, Zlatan and even MC Galaxy, the young man who gained the spotlight through a dance competition organised by the singer, also sent in their donations.

Big Brother Naija reality TV stars, Nengi and Dorathy, also jumped into the challenge, when they sent their own one million naira to the singer.
Davido didn’t limit the campaign to his friends in the industry alone, he included brands and international artistes he had worked with and tasked them to make their contributions too.

For each donation made, Davido posted a thank you note and followed it up with a call to others, who were yet to send in theirs. One of the trending videos from his posts was that of a young man he met in a Dubai mall that immediately gave him the requested amount.

Perhaps, for transparency, Davido further posted the alerts on his Instastory, which showed how the numbers kept multiplying as it is in an electronic raffle machine.

Davido, who has a combined following of over 30 million people on Instagram and Twitter, started the challenge by writing on his Instastory that, he had always been lifting others and wanted them to return the favour.

initial post read: “If you know I’ve given you a hit song…send me money… una know una selves ooo.”
He later added that the aim was to raise N100 million to clear his Rolls Royce from the port.

Given his musical success since he stormed the industry, combined with his family wealth, it was inconceivable that the well-heeled singer would depend on people’s kindness to clear his vehicle. Even with this knowledge, it didn’t stop the big shots from donating to his account.

Whatever reservations anyone might have about the Davido challenge, it cannot take away the influence and power that the singer wields.
Davido is an exemplary young man for today’s youths, and even though he was born with a silver spoon, the young man, who is a few days away from his 29th birthday, didn’t allow such illuminating effects to blind his vision for humanity.

The youngest of his five siblings, Davido was born in the United States but held his secondary school education in Nigeria. He returned to the US at 16 to study business administration but his love for music got in the way. He dropped out of school, relocated to London to pursue his music. However, by 2011, when he returned to Nigeria, he went back to school, this time Babcock University and graduated with a degree in music.

Although from a wealthy home, Davido strived to carve out a career for himself and plunged into the music industry with grit and determination, which later paid off with the release of his club-banging hit ‘Dami Duro’ from his 2012 album Omo Baba Olowo, which loosely translates to ‘son of a rich man’ in Yoruba.
Today, he is among the most sought-after Nigerian artists, touring different parts of the world and collaborating with international stars.

While many had questioned the singer’s plan with the donation, it is evident that the campaign was a brilliant and strategic business move that would, in subsequent days, yield returns for him and Wema Bank.

The bank, from all indications, has begun to leverage the campaign to promote its image as a friendly and youthful bank.

It is also most likely that the monies received would be given back to the society through takeaways. And knowing Davido, he just might surprise a devoted fan in a big way on his birthday. But first, the race now is to meet his new N200 million target.

Vanessa Obioha

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