Davido speaks up for missing children at World Cup event

Grammy-nominated Afrobeats star David Adeleke, known as Davido, has explained why he wore pins with the names of 39 missing children and seven teachers during his performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup event. He said Nigeria’s image should never come before the safety of innocent kids.

In an interview with Focus on Africa host Waihiga Mwaura, shared on Sunday, Davido said he wanted to use his global platform to bring attention to the victims since they are 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,” Davido said.

He mentioned that performing at the World Cup was an honor. But he also felt it was vital to highlight the security issues Nigeria faces.

“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 added that music and live performances allow him to raise awareness about issues affecting Nigerians.

“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 said.