Reno Omokri Faults Davido Over Oyo Schoolchildren Kidnapping Advocacy

Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has openly criticized Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, over his public campaign for abducted students and teachers in Oyo State. 

Omokri warned that high-profile global attention on terrorism cases often backfires, actively undermining active rescue operations. 

The former presidential aide argued that while the singer's intentions might be pure, the resulting media circus gives dangerous leverage to the perpetrators. 

The dispute erupted following Davido’s recent appearance at a FIFA World Cup countdown concert. The global music icon used his wardrobe as a political statement, performing in a customized jacket and shirt emblazoned with the names of pupils and teachers recently kidnapped from the Ahoro-Esinle and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. 

The outfit explicitly distinguished the victims who are still in captivity from those confirmed dead, a move Davido described as an urgent distress call for government intervention. 

Reacting to the concert performance, Reno Omokri faults Davido for creating a narrative that rewards criminals with free press. Taking to his official X (formerly Twitter) account, the diplomat explained that international outrage does not pressure armed groups into backing down. 

Instead, it inflates their egos and increases their demands. "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," Omokri wrote. Invoking a famous quote from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Omokri reminded the public that "publicity is the oxygen of terrorism." 

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He stated that extremists intentionally rely on media attention to magnify fear and manipulate political outcomes. According to the ambassador-designate, global campaigns inadvertently shift the pressure away from the criminals and onto the government, maximizing the psychological impact of the kidnapping. 

Reflecting on his own historical involvement with high-profile human rights campaigns—specifically regarding Boko Haram hostages like Leah Sharibu and the Chibok schoolgirls—Omokri admitted that security experts later pulled him aside to explain the damage done. 

He revealed that hyper-visible media campaigns ultimately made the captives "too valuable" in the eyes of their captors, leading to tighter hostage security and inflated ransom demands. 

While Reno Omokri faults Davido for the public stunt, he reassured Nigerians that domestic security agencies are silently and actively working to free the abducted Oyo schoolchildren and their teachers, pointing out that low-profile tactical approaches have historically yielded the highest rate of successful rescues.