Nigeria's image isn't worth protecting when school children are being kidnapped - Davido takes bold stance

• Davido doesn't believe that Nigeria's image should be protected at the expense of kidnapped school kids.

• The award-winning star told the BBC that he chose to use his platform as a musician and performer to shed light on the plight of Nigerians.

• Davido is among a growing list of celebrities speaking up on the country's rising insecurities and economic hardship.

In a new interview on the BBC, multi-award-winning superstar Davido explained why he chose to use his platform to bring global attention to the kidnapping of school children around the country.

During his performance on one of the side events at the ongoing FIFA World Cup hosted in Mexico, the United States of America, and Canada, Davido wore a jacket with the names of the school kids from the Oyo Kidnapping pinned all over the black leather jacket.

Davido's choice of outfit and activism generated both criticism and praise, with some commending him for using his platform to amplify the plight of Nigerians confronting record levels of insecurity. Other critics, including popular Hausa praise singer Dauda Adamu Kahutu, popularly known as Rarara, accused Davido of a lack of patriotism for airing the country's dirty laundry on the global stage.

The award-winning star, however, doesn't agree with the idea of protecting the country's image. According to him, there's no image to protect when school kids are being kidnapped.

“A lot of people don’t really want to talk about what goes on in my country (Nigeria) simply because they want to protect the image, but there's no image to protect if the little kids are being kidnapped," Davido said, strongly communicating his stance.

"As much as I was happy to do the World Cup, we also have to understand that things are going on back home in our country, which we have the power to let the world know through our own means. My own means is music and performances, so I used my platform to project what is going on."

Davido's decision to use the World Cup stage for his activism continues his trend of joining his voice to echo Nigeria's sociopolitical crisis. During the famous ENDSARS protest against police brutality and corruption in 2020, he took part in the protest, and his smash hit record 'FEM' became the unofficial anthem.

As Nigerians at home and in the diaspora continue to await the return of the school children and teachers of the Orile kidnapping in Oyo, Davido and other celebrities are speaking up on the rising insecurity and economic hardship across the country.

With his sixth album set for release on July 31, the Afrobeats megastar would be hitting the road for another landmark tour where he will again have an opportunity to further use his platform to spotlight Nigeria's problems.