Davido defends World Cup protest over abducted Nigerian children

By Johnson Arua

Afrobeats superstar David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has defended his decision to spotlight the abduction of 39 children and seven teachers during his performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saying the safety of innocent children is more important than protecting Nigeria's image.

Speaking in an interview with Focus on Africa host Waihiga Mwaura, shared on Sunday, the award-winning singer explained that he wore pins bearing the names of the abducted victims to draw global attention to the country's worsening security situation.

Davido said he intentionally used the World Cup stage to raise awareness of the kidnappings, arguing that remaining silent in order to preserve Nigeria's international reputation was unacceptable while children were still missing.

"A lot of people don't really want to talk about what goes on in my country simply because they want to protect the image, but there's no image to protect if little kids are being kidnapped," he said.

The singer noted that although he was honoured to perform at one of the world's biggest sporting events, he felt a responsibility to use the platform to speak about the plight of the missing victims.

"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," he said.

Davido stressed that music and live performances provide him with a unique opportunity to advocate for issues affecting Nigerians, especially when victims risk being forgotten.

"When I say our own means, where's my power? My power is in music, performances. We have these students that have been missing, still not found. So yeah, I use my platform to project what's really going on," he added.