Nigerians are known to be very happy and fun-loving people, and this can be seen in the way they organise parties, despite the harsh economic conditions of the country. According to the World Happiness Report (WHR) in 2020, Nigeria was ranked the 6th happiest and 95th happiest in Africa and the world respectively. Apart from the abundance of food and drinks, as well as ‘to-match clothes popularly called ‘aso-ebi’ worn by different groups, one thing you see in any event in Nigeria is the spraying of money. Parties in Nigeria especially in the West and East are not complete if there is no session where people spray money.
At different times, the CBN had warned that the habit of spraying money at parties was wrong, contributing to the plight of the local currencies as they are usually matched on while spraying and dancing at social events. According to Section 21(3) of the CBN Bill, it states, “For the avoidance of doubt, spraying of, dancing or marching on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira or such note and shall be punishable under Sub-section (1) of this section.” If convicted the person risked six months in jail or a fine of N50, 000.
However, this appeal has gone largely unheeded as Nigerians have made it a norm to spray money’’ during ceremonies and parties. It is interesting to know why Nigerians have made the spraying of money a culture.
A symbol of affluence:
Spraying money on celebrants during occasions shows the calibre of people involved in it in terms of their financial status. Often, they are people who aren’t financially constrained in society. This was the case of Obi Cubana’s mother’s burial where people of affluence in the country congregated and there was massive spraying of money which became the talk of the town, both home and abroad. Nigeria is a country where the financial status of an individual is highly celebrated.
Prestige and honour
Nigerians give special respect to rich and affluent people; so spraying money is an opportunity to make people see you in that light. This is very common to the Igbo and Yoruba culture. This cultural trait is the reason why prominent titles are bestowed on people with affluence or unique strength in these cultures especially, the Igbo culture. Hence, spraying money during an event is an avenue to gain more prestige and honour.
It makes the occasion Trendy and Memorable
What is a Nigerian party without the spray of money? This part of events is one many look out for – celebrants and guests alike. It is also often believed that events which had large numbers of influential people in attendance and money was splashed or thrown on the celebrants makes the event special. In the age of social media, such events get to trend and become the talk of town even for years to come.