Innocent 2Baba’s foundation to partner North Central states to foster peace, harness musical talents

…as Governor Sule backs initiative

Nigeria’s music icon, Innocent 2Baba Idibia, alongside his wife, Hon. Natasha Irobosa Osawaru, a member of the Edo State House of Assembly, are jointly employing the 2Baba Foundation to collaborate with the six states of the North Central geopolitical zone, including the FCT, to foster peace, as well as provide humanitarian support to internally displaced persons.

2Baba Idibia, an indigene of Benue State, disclosed this when he led his wife and other members of his team on a courtesy visit on the Chairman North Central Governors, Governor, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State at the Governor’s Lodge, Abuja on Monday.

According to the music icon, his foundation came up with the initiative, hoping that it would go a long way in bridging existing gaps, unite the people of the zone, as well as create awareness especially among the youths.

“We are going to use it as well to harness talents and promote peace. It is a major project for us,” 2Baba said.

Shedding more light on the initiative, 2Baba’s wife, Hon. Natasha Irobosa Osawaru, who is also a member of the Edo State House of Assembly, said that the United North Central for Peace Promotion (UNCPP), will leverage 2Baba’s influence to provide a strategic avenue to foster peace, tolerance, and non-violence among youths and vulnerable communities in the region.

Hon. Natasha noted that the North Central zone comprising of six states namely Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger and the FCT have, in recent years, faced rising cases of communal clashes, insurgency spillover, banditry, and socio-political unrest, resulting in loss of lives, displacement, loss of livelihoods and weakened social cohesion.

“Music has long been recognised as a unifying and peace building tool capable of bridging divides across ethnic, religious, and political lines. The UNCPP aims to use music, dialogue, and social mobilisation to promote peace, security, awareness, and humanitarian support across the six states in the region,” she said.

She said they were at the Nasarawa Governor’s Lodge to unfold their plans for the region and to seek the buy-in of the governors of the region, especially that Governor Sule is the Chairman of the North Central Governors Forum.

“2Baba is a music icon, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and an appointee of the Benue State Government. We are bringing UNCPP in order to foster collaboration between government, private sector, and civil society in promoting peace, provide humanitarian support to IDPs, create a sustainable platform for dialogue and regional unity through entertainment,” she added.

Hon. Natasha disclosed that the programme, which will come in two phases, will comprise of music concerts, talent hunt, and humanitarian outreach.

“Key activities include #tag, music concert, which is the flagship event, music against violence, featuring 2Baba and other top Nigerian stars,” she said.

Hon. Natasha used the opportunity of the visit to commend the Governor for his developmental strides, urging him to sustain his efforts while maintaining his humble disposition.

Responding, Chairman, North Central Governors Forum, Governor Abdullahi Sule, welcomed the initiative, saying he will support 2Baba towards the success of the UNCPP.

When he noticed that Plateau State was missing from the list of states participating in the programme, Governor Sule drew the attention of the organisers on why Plateau State must feature prominently in the event.

“For us, we used to be Benue-Plateau State, before we became Plateau and now Nasarawa. With due respect, Plateau has experienced insecurity more than even Benue State. You can’t talk about peace building excluding Plateau. I want the programme to succeed,” he stated.

According to the Governor, he wants to leave a legacy that would stand the test of time, especially considering the transformative strides of his administration in Nasarawa State.

He said whenever good things are mentioned about his administration, he is further challenged to do more in order to sustain the image people have about Nasarawa and Nigeria at large.

“Every time kind comments are said about me, they ginger me to do more. I must sustain the way people see me. I make all manner of sacrifices in order to sustain that. Not just for me as a person but for our state and country,” he said.

He pointed out that governors in the North Central zone will support the 2Baba initiative in order to leave a legacy by fostering peace and unity.

The Governor said his administration has every reason to foster peace and unity.

“Just like we are doing so many things now. As I keep telling everyone with pride, we have commissioned the biggest lithium processing plant in the country. We are getting ready to commission the one bigger than that, which is the biggest in the whole of Africa. We are waiting for President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to return from Japan and give us a date for that commissioning.

“I love your idea of visiting the rural areas. It is an opportunity to visit some of these places. That will further motivate you to bring peace to our people. A lot of issues are laying down but this peace initiative, going to rural areas, doing the outreach, empowering people, bringing new talents, is timely and apt,” he added.

He thanked 2Baba and his foundation for selecting Nasarawa State as contact point.