Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has criticised Afrobeats musician David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, for campaigning globally for the release of 46 kidnapped Oyo State schoolchildren and teachers. Omokri, who spoke in a video broadcast, argued that the singer’s international awareness drive at a FIFA concert in Los Angeles, United States, makes rescue operations harder by giving the kidnappers free global publicity.
Davido used his performance at the FIFA World Cup Countdown Concert at the Crypto.com Arena to bring international attention to the security issues in Nigeria. The award-winning artist performed on stage wearing a customised black jacket with the names of the 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers recently kidnapped from Ahoro-Esinle and Yawota communities in Oyo State. The back of the jacket read, “Bring Them Home.” While many fans praised the move as a good show of support, Omokri warned that high-profile publicity often causes problems when dealing with criminals.
According to Omokri,
“Publicity helps terrorists. It does not pressure them. They treasure it! It is a very big mistake to think that publicity, or global outrage, pressures terrorists. Quite the contrary. They relish it! They thrive on it. The late British Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher, put it best when she said, ‘Publicity is the oxygen of terrorism.’”
He further said that the singer’s move could inadvertently complicate the situation on the ground, adding: “Davido means well, but doing what he did actually helps the terrorists who took those children more than it aids the rescue of the kids and their teachers. Terrorists want publicity. That is how they spread terror.”
Omokri also talked about his experience with hostage situations. He said top security officials previously told him that his own campaign made Leah Sharibu’s release less likely because the high profile made her too valuable to her captors. He said the same thing happened with the Chibok girls, noting that if the #BringBackOurGirls campaign had not become a global event, the kidnappers would not have guarded the girls so heavily.
The matter has caused mixed reactions from the public. While some citizens argued that international pressure is necessary to keep the government working hard to accelerate rescue efforts, others agreed with Omokri, saying that media attention gives bandits too much power.
