Nigerians have donated over N2 million to support a young schoolboy, Akorede, after his spontaneous appearance in a dance video shared by a Lagos-based businesswoman, Nze Matilda.
The video, posted on Monday by Matilda, known as @bellz_beautybase on Instagram, was originally intended to celebrate the reopening of her store for the year. However, Akorede’s brief but lively dance captured hearts nationwide, leading to an outpouring of generosity from Nigerians eager to help him.
On Tuesday, after receiving an initial donation of ₦100,000 from a customer for Akorede, Matilda made it her mission to locate him and ensure he received the funds.
She noted that by the time she met Akorede’s mother, the donations had already risen to N250,000. She handed over the initial N250,000 to the family, saying:
“As I was posting, more people were sending in donations for them. I know about grace, and I’ve experienced it firsthand, but this boy’s grace is on another level. We’ll be giving Akorede and his family another N250,000 today, making it N500,000 in total.”
The story didn’t end there. Donations continued to pour in, and Matilda kept her followers updated, revealing that by Friday, the total had reached N700,000. Sharing her joy, she wrote:“Somebody shout GRACE! You guys, N700,000 in total! He saw me dancing while walking home, and then he stopped and joined in. His mother couldn’t believe it when I called her, saying her son didn’t even know how to dance. Finding him was easy; I saw a group of boys passing by my store, and they turned out to be his classmates. They fetched him immediately. His name, Akorede, means ‘the one who brings wealth,’ spoke strongly for him. This boy’s story is truly powerful.”
