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Nigeria’s image isn’t worth protecting when school children are being kidnapped – Davido

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.

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Celebs

Nollywood Veteran Hanks Anuku captured roaming the streets of Abuja

A viral video showing veteran Nollywood actor Hanks Anuku on a roadside in Abuja has sparked concern among Nigerians on social media. The footage, believed to have been recorded recently, shows the 64-year-old actor appearing distressed, holding a disposable cup and seemingly talking to himself. Some social media users speculated that he may have been under the influence of alcohol, though this remains unconfirmed.

​Sharing the clip online, eyewitnesses appealed for support, writing:

​“Please Nigerians, Nollywood actor Hanks Anuku needs our help. Please repost and share so he can get help.”
The video has generated mixed reactions, with some expressing concern for the actor’s well-being, while others urged the public not to jump to conclusions.

One user said, “He made his choice. Donate for him and he will still visit his drugs and drinks. Best advice na the one wey person advice himself.”

Several fans called on his fellow actors and the Nigerian Actors Guild to provide the actor with the necessary medical and financial support.\

Anuku previously made headlines in November 2022 after a viral video showed him dressed in worn-out clothing while wandering the streets, prompting widespread speculation about his mental health. The actor later dismissed claims that he was battling mental illness. However, this latest video shows concerns over the state of his mental health and well-being.

​During his time in Nollywood, Hanks Anuku was known for playing the archetypal bad-boy role, which earned him fame through his performances in movies like ‘The Senator.’ The actor’s current situation sheds light on the issues confronting movie stars and other celebrities who often battle with depression and financial crisis after leaving the limelight.

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Entertainment

My mum is my God, my dad is my God’ — 9ice

Singer 9ice has sparked debate after saying his parents are his “God” and rejecting other deities, months after revealing he has practised as a Babalawo for 18 years.

9ice is once again at the centre of online debate after declaring that his parents, not any deity, occupy the highest spiritual place in his life.

In a video posted to his Instagram on Sunday, the artist said: “Today I’ll tell you something I don’t really talk about, but I’ll talk today. I love my mum, I love my dad, my god is my mum, my father is my god.” He went further in the comments, clarifying that the reverence typically reserved for an unseen God should instead be directed at one’s parents.

The singer didn’t stop there. “I don’t believe in inferior Gods,” he added, distancing himself from the worship of any other spiritual beings and insisting his belief system doesn’t fit neatly into traditional religious structures.

Predictably, the internet had thoughts, and most of them weren’t kind. A large chunk of reactions accused him of being under the influence of something, with many dismissing the statement outright rather than engaging with it.

This isn’t 9ice’s first brush with this kind of controversy, and that’s part of why the latest clip spread as fast as it did. Back in April, he went viral for a different but related rant, this time aimed squarely at Nigeria’s religious culture.

“You’ll leave Nigeria and go to Mecca to go and lick rock all in the name of Kabba,” he said then, arguing that decades of national prayer hadn’t translated into national progress. He compared Nigeria’s work ethic unfavourably to London’s, joking that between church on Sunday, Bible study on Wednesday and vigil on Friday, “when would you work?”

Some Nigerians found merit in his earlier point about productivity versus performative religiosity. Far fewer have extended that same patience to his spiritual claims, with both the Babalawo reveal and now this parental-deity comparison landing mostly as fodder for mockery rather than genuine reflection.

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Celebs

“I can never marry a Nigerian” — DJ Cuppy

DJ Cuppy has decided against marrying a Nigerian man, and she has a reason that says as much about the unique pressures of dating as a billionaire’s daughter as it does about the men involved.

Speaking in a resurfaced interview, the DJ and media personality said her last Nigerian partner spent more energy trying to secure a meeting with her father, business mogul Femi Otedola, than actually pursuing her.

“I can never marry a Nigerian. The last Nigerian I dated was already asking me when he could meet my dad. I don’t even think they actually like me,” she said.

The comment was received well because it touched something many high-profile women have spoken about privately, which is the difficulty of knowing whether interest is genuine or transactional when your last name opens doors that most people spend careers trying to reach.

Cuppy added that her father has no strong preference on nationality, only that she eventually gets married. She also used the moment to express happiness about her sister Temi Otedola’s relationship with star Mr Eazi.

Cuppy’s romantic history has rarely been quiet. Her most high-profile relationship was with British boxer Ryan Taylor, which moved quickly from a 2022 engagement to a 2023 breakup and a series of very public exchanges in the years that followed.

In early 2024, Cuppy posted something her exes interpreted as a taunt, suggesting they could not afford to be where she was without her help. Taylor responded in the comments with: “Neither can you.”

The back-and-forth did not stop there. In 2025, Taylor appeared on a podcast and alleged that Cuppy had expressed discomfort around Nigerians, claiming she discouraged him from hiring Nigerian staff and was uncomfortable when Nigerian fans approached her in public.

That allegation, largely unaddressed at the time, now circles back with some irony given her latest comments.

Before Taylor, Cuppy was publicly linked to Davido’s manager Asa Asika and Nigerian footballer Victor Anichebe.

She has since said she prefers low-key, non-celebrity partners, someone with a regular job, away from the spotlight that has followed most of her previous relationships.

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