Afrobeats singer Davido has opened up about his decision to highlight the recent kidnappings in Oyo State while performing at the FIFA World Cup Countdown Concert, saying he felt it was important to use his global platform to raise awareness.
In an interview with BBC News Africa, the award-winning artist said he understands that some people prefer not to speak publicly about Nigeria’s challenges in order to protect the country’s image. However, he argued that the safety of citizens, especially children, should come before concerns about public perception.
Davido explained that while he was honoured to perform at the international event, he also believed it was necessary to draw attention to the issues affecting people back home.
He said:
“A lot of people don’t really want to talk about what goes in Nigeria simply because they want to protect the image, but theres no image to protect if the little kids are being Kidnapped.
“As much as i was happy to do the World Cup, We also have to understand that there are things going on, back home in our country which we have the power to let the world know through our own means.”
“There’s no image to protect if little kids are being k+dnapped” — Singer Davido defends wearing pins for abd¥cted pupils at World Cup event pic.twitter.com/Rz26JelZjR
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) July 5, 2026
