The CHIVIDO 2024 wedding was one of the biggest events Nigeria had seen in years. Davido and Chioma, Miami venue, diaspora Nigerians flying in, dollars raining from every direction. And then, days after the event, Davido went on social media and said exactly what many celebrants before him have felt but never said out loud.
His words: "The video of all the money dem spray is and wetin we carry go house no dey tally."
Let that land for a moment. A wedding with that level of production, that scale of celebrity attendance, that volume of money being thrown in the air — and the couple still went home with less than what was sprayed. If it happens at that level, it has always been happening everywhere.
This is not new. People have just been quiet about it.
At every owambe, naming ceremony, and birthday party in Nigeria, there is an informal economy operating around the money on the floor. Guests pick up notes. Ushers pocket what they gather. Event staff sweep up more than they hand over. The band area, the tables near the dance floor, the corridor where the celebrant walks through — every zone has its own informal collectors.
Some of it is accidental. Notes scatter, get stepped on, slide under chairs. Someone else picks it up thinking it is theirs. But a lot of it is not accidental. There are people who dress up for parties specifically to pick up money. And because cash has no name on it, nothing can be proven.
It has also turned violent
In July 2023, a young woman named Chinyere Awuda was beaten to death at a hotel in Awka, Anambra State. She was accused of picking up money that was being sprayed on a birthday celebrant. She was assaulted, and her body was found in the hotel swimming pool afterward.
That is the extreme end. But the underlying tension is not rare. Arguments over picked up notes happen at parties all the time. Security staff get aggressive with guests over scattered cash. The scramble that cash spraying creates is a real source of conflict, and in a crowded hall, conflict escalates fast.
And then there is the law
Section 21 of the CBN Act makes it an offence to spray, mutilate, or damage naira notes at social events. The penalty is up to 6 months imprisonment, a fine, or both. This is not just a rule on paper.
- Bobrisky was sentenced to 6 months in prison for naira abuse
- TikToker Teee Dollar and another creator each got 6 months after a viral video showed them spraying ₦200 notes
- Cubana Chief Priest was arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos and had to post ₦10 million bail
- Billionaire businessman E-Money was arrested for spraying both naira and dollars at public events
- Actress Iyabo Ojo and comedian AY were both invited by the EFCC for questioning over videos from social functions
Wealthy Nigerians responded by switching to dollar spraying to sidestep the naira rules. Davido's wedding was entirely dollars for this reason. But that does not fix the theft problem. It just changes the denomination of what goes missing.
What digital spray actually solves
On the Giftinz sprayboard, every naira that is sprayed goes directly into the celebrant's wallet. Not to the floor. Not to whoever is fastest at picking things up. Not to the usher who is carrying a bag. Directly, instantly, to the person being celebrated.
The name of every sprayer appears on the big screen. The amount appears. The shoutout message appears. There is a complete record. After the party, the celebrant can download the full list of every person who sprayed, exactly how much they gave, and what they said.
Davido's problem — money that was clearly sprayed but did not make it home — cannot happen with digital spray. The payment settles the moment someone sprays. There is nothing to pick up, pocket, or lose.
The performance of spraying still happens
People sometimes think digital spraying means losing the experience of spraying at a party. It does not. You still walk up to the floor. You still have your moment with the celebrant. Your name goes up on the screen in front of everyone in the room. The crowd sees it. The DJ can call your name out. The full social experience of spraying stays intact.
What changes is that the money actually reaches the person you are celebrating. And you are not breaking any law in the process.
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